OIC secretary-general arrives in Pakistan to attend summit on girls’ education in Muslim countries

ISLAMABAD: The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), which operates under the UN system, on Wednesday voiced concern over Pakistan’s directive requiring Afghan nationals to relocate from Islamabad and Rawalpindi or face deportation, urging authorities to consider human rights standards in implementing the policy.
Last year, the Pakistani government announced that Afghan citizens residing in the federal capital would require No Objection Certificates (NOCs) after saying that many of them participated in an anti-government protest launched by former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party.
The development came months after Pakistan launched a deportation drive, citing security concerns, with officials arguing that Afghan nationals had been linked to militancy. However, the Taliban-led administration in Kabul contended that Afghan refugees were being scapegoated and insisted they were not responsible for Pakistan’s security issues.
The UNHCR and IOM said Pakistani authorities have arrested and deported over 800 Afghan nationals from Islamabad and Rawalpindi since January 1, including women and children, further raising concerns among humanitarian organizations. They said they were seeking clarity over the modality and timeframe of Afghan relocation.
“Pakistan has a proud tradition of hosting refugees, saving millions of lives,” Philippa Candler, the UNHCR representative, noted. “This generosity is greatly appreciated.”
“Forced return to Afghanistan could place some people at increased risk,” she added. “We urge Pakistan to continue to provide safety to Afghans at risk, irrespective of their documentation status.”
A UNHCR-issued non-return advisory has been in place since 2021, calling for a suspension of forced returns of Afghan nationals from any country, regardless of their status.
UNHCR and IOM have emphasized the need for a mechanism to register and screen Afghan nationals in Pakistan to provide tailored solutions, including international protection for those in need and legal pathways for individuals with strong socioeconomic and family ties in the country.
“IOM is committed to work with the Government of Pakistan and UNHCR to develop a mechanism to register, manage and screen Afghan nationals in Pakistan,” said IOM Chief of Mission, Mio Sato. “This will open the door to tailored solutions, including international protection to those in need and pathways for Afghan nationals, with long-standing socioeconomic and family ties in the country.”

SURGAN, Pakistan: Health workers are braving freezing temperatures this week to administer polio vaccinations in Pakistan-administered Kashmir after cases surged nationwide last year.
Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan are the only countries where polio is endemic, and militants have for decades targeted vaccination teams and their security escorts.
A police officer guarding polio vaccinators in the northwest was shot dead by militants on Monday, the first day of the annual campaign that is due to last a week.
In Kashmir, health worker Manzoor Ahmad trudged up snowy mountains as temperatures dipped to minus six degrees Celsius (21 degrees Fahrenheit) to administer polio vaccinations in the region.
“It is a mountainous, hard area... we arrive here for polio vaccination despite the three feet of snowfall,” Ahmad, who heads the polio campaign in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, told AFP.

Social worker Mehnaz, who goes by one name and has been helping the vaccinators since 2018, said the difficult climate poses a huge risk to the vaccination teams.
“We have no monthly salary... we come here to give polio shots to the children despite the glaciers and avalanches,” she told AFP.
“We risk our lives and leave our children at home.”

The challenge is larger this year for the country with a population of 240 million, after it recorded at least 73 polio cases in 2024 — a sharp increase from just six cases the year before.
Health workers aim to vaccinate approximately 1,700 children within a week in the town of Surgan, around 150 kilometers (90 miles) north of Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
“Our target is to give polio shots to 750,000 children below the age of five. There are 4,000 polio teams that visit house-to-house,” Ahmad said.

“There have been no polio cases in Kashmir for the last 24 years,” he added with pride.
Polio can easily be prevented by an oral vaccine, but in the past some conservative religious leaders have falsely claimed that the vaccine contains pork or alcohol, declaring it forbidden for Muslims to consume.