250,000 Afghan Children Require Immediate Aid After Returning from Pakistan

In a significant development, a non-governmental organization has highlighted the urgent needs of a quarter of a million Afghan children who require education, food, and homes after being forcibly returned from Pakistan. The crackdown by Pakistan on foreigners, allegedly present in the country illegally, has affected approximately 1.7 million Afghans, making them the majority among the foreigners in Pakistan. This campaign has led to more than 520,000 Afghans leaving Pakistan since last October, with Save the Children reporting that families are arriving back in Afghanistan with "virtually nothing."

According to Save the Children, nearly half of all returnees are children, facing dire circumstances. A survey conducted by the organization revealed that almost all of these families lack sufficient food for the next one to two months. Some have had to borrow money or rely on friends and relatives for sustenance. Furthermore, education poses another significant challenge, with almost two-thirds of returning children not enrolled in school. The majority of these children reportedly lack the necessary documents for school registration and enrollment. This issue is compounded by Afghanistan's ban on girls attending school beyond sixth grade.

Arshad Malik, Save the Children's country director for Afghanistan, expressed concern over the strain these returns are placing on Afghanistan's already limited resources. He noted that many of the undocumented Afghan children were born in Pakistan and do not consider Afghanistan their home. Additionally, Malik highlighted that alongside those returning from Pakistan, 600,000 Afghans arrived from Iran last year.

Despite these challenges, Abdul Mutalib Haqqani, a spokesman for the Refugee Ministry, assured that education is available for any child missing out on classes. He stated that children could register in any class and continue their education regardless of their documentation status.

The situation has been exacerbated by Pakistan's decision to deport Afghans who entered the country illegally. Many Afghans have resided in Pakistan for decades due to successive wars in their homeland. The announcement of this deportation order prompted hundreds of thousands to flee back to Afghanistan, fearing arrest.