Latest news with #Afghan-Soviet
Channel 4
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Channel 4
Activist's ‘nightmares' over fears of Afghanistan deportation
Smartly dressed and softly spoken, Mohammed Reza Sazish, 26, tries hard not to be noticed on the rare occasions he leaves the apartment he's renting in the outskirts of Islamabad. A civil rights activist who fled to Pakistan from Afghanistan , he fears being caught up in a mass deportation drive that has seen close to 200,000 Afghans pushed out of the country in the past six weeks. For Sazish, being forced back to Afghanistan could be a matter of life and death. In November 2022, he, along with several other activists, was arrested and jailed by the country's Taliban government for attending the inauguration of a new women's rights organisation. 'Sometimes I have nightmares about Afghanistan and the torture I experienced,' he tells me. 'I wake up suddenly, frightened, worried I might be deported.' Millions of Afghans have been living in Pakistan for decades, the first major wave arriving after the beginning of the Afghan-Soviet war in 1979. Now, however, citing economic pressures and security concerns, the Pakistani government has ordered many to return, even those who were born and raised in Pakistan. Hundreds of thousands were deported or pushed by fear of arrest to return to Afghanistan in a campaign that began in October 2023. A second wave got underway last month, with Pakistani authorities newly revoking the temporary resident permits of around 800,000 Afghans. At the Torkham border crossing, families have loaded intricately painted Pakistani trucks with whatever possessions they've managed to fit in, as they return to a homeland some have never set foot in before. Under the Taliban, the country where they'll begin to rebuild their lives bars girls from studying beyond primary school age and women from working in most jobs. In theory, Sazish, shouldn't be affected by the deportation campaign. He came to Pakistan after eventually being released from jail by the Taliban, and holds a valid Pakistani visa. But he has to renew it each month. It's expensive and crucially leaves him in nervous periods of limbo for weeks – awaiting an extension that may or may not arrive, in which time he could be swept up in the frequent raids Pakistani police carry out searching for undocumented Afghans. A few months ago, they arrived at his door. He says: 'I was scared and thinking we have done nothing wrong, why have they come? His visa had already been extended that month, but he hadn't printed a copy out and so he was taken away to a transit camp for deportees. 'I was showing my documents, but they weren't checking them or listening to what I was saying.' Sazish managed to negotiate his release, he says, with the help of a bribe paid to the police, but now his anxiety swells anytime he hears a rap on the door. There are many other Afghans in a similar position to Sazish in Pakistan, all of them hoping to be relocated abroad. But western countries are now accepting far fewer Afghan refugees than they were immediately after the Taliban takeover in August 2021. 'Sometimes I have nightmares about Afghanistan and the torture I experienced. I wake up suddenly, frightened, worried I might be deported.' – Mohammed Reza Sazish Under President Trump, the US has suspended its refugee admission programme , and despite the clear risks he faces, Sazish is yet to receive a positive response to his frequent enquiries to human rights groups and foreign embassies. 'Night and day I am sending emails,' he says. 'The first thing I ask whenever I meet anybody is can you give me the email address of any organization or country that can help me?' With international attention now focused elsewhere, Sazish and other Afghan human rights defenders feel abandoned. 'We are not just forgotten, but totally forgotten,' he says bitterly. 'Here in Pakistan we are not living, just surviving.' A poem he's written captures the despair he feels: 'The train arrived, halted with a howl, it offered its respects to the weary and waiting sunset The man picked up his suitcase of sorrow and climbed aboard, the train compartment was overtaken by a serene silence Before he turned away, he wrote: 'Jihad. War…' — then spat on the words he had scrawled When he fell asleep and closed his eyes, all the people vanished, he saw a soothing light In his bright dream, he danced and clapped, a girl offered him wine and honey When he woke, black blood covered the train as it crashed, he was bewildered and confused, wondering how this new disaster had befallen him' Watch more here: England-Afghanistan cricket match to go ahead despite calls for boycott Afghan Women's Summit – an act of defiance in itself What is the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan two years after Taliban takeover?
News18
12-05-2025
- Politics
- News18
'They Don't Indulge In Terror Activities': What Pakistan Defence Minister Said On His Country Sheltering Terrorists
Last Updated: Pakistan defence minister Khawaja Asif said terrorists living inside his country's territory "do not indulge in terror activities, either in Pak or across the border in India" Denying his country sheltered terrorists, Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has said the ongoing terrorism has to do with past US alliances and they have not supported it for years. In an interview to the BBC hours after India carried out a military strike on terror targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) on May 7, Asif said terrorists living inside its territory 'do not indulge in terror activities, either in Pak or across the border in India". India carried out the precision strikes under Operation Sindoor as retaliation to the Pahalgam terror attack and in view of cross-border links to the tragedy. The Resistance Front (TRF), known to be affiliated with Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba, claimed responsibility for the attack that claimed the lives of 26 tourists in Jammu and Kashmir. Asked if there were terrorists or terror groups active in Pakistan, Asif gave an emphatic 'no" for an answer. 'These (terrorism and terrorists) are things from our past…" he told the BBC, pointing to the role of the US in arming certain Afghanistan groups in the 1980s during the Afghan-Soviet war. He answered questions related to the funding of designated terror groups like the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and if Pakistan was helping them generate these through 'legitimate" businesses. 'The terrorists, which it is claimed that they are in Pakistan or their terrorist outfits are in Pakistan, they were allies of the US efforts in Afghanistan in the 80s. This thing keeps haunting us… that all these people who were actually our allies, or we were their allies… they're all 'dry-cleaned' now, but we are still 'dirty'. They still blame us for people who were their allies," he was quoted. India has repeatedly accused Pakistan of harbouring terrorists and fomenting their activities across the border, especially fuelling the Kashmir issue in India. In fact, the Pahalgam attack took place days after Pakistan Army chief General Asim Munir called Kashmir a 'jugular vein" for his country. Earlier, in his address to the nation and while speaking about Operation Sindoor, Prime Minister Narendra Modi issued a stern warning to Pakistan saying India will not succumb to nuclear blackmail and sent a clear message to the world: terror and trade, terror and talks cannot go together. 'Operation Sindoor is India's new policy against terrorism. We have only kept in abeyance our operations against Pakistan and the future will depend on their behaviour," Modi said in the 22-minute address. He had an advice for Pakistan's rulers: 'The terrorists they have been feeding and nurturing all these years will swallow Pakistan itself. If Pakistan wants to survive, it will have to root out terrorism. This is not an era of war, but this is also not the era of terror." Watch India Pakistan Breaking News on CNN-News18. Get breaking news, in-depth analysis, and expert perspectives on everything from geopolitics to diplomacy and global trends. Stay informed with the latest world news only on News18. Download the News18 App to stay updated! First Published: May 12, 2025, 23:55 IST
NDTV
12-05-2025
- Politics
- NDTV
BBC Asked Pak Minister, 'Do Terrorists Live In...?' His One-Word Reply
New Delhi: Pakistan does not shelter active terrorists or terrorist outfits, and those living in its territory "do not indulge in terror activities, either in Pak or across the order in India', that country's Defence Minister Khwaja Asif told British broadcaster BBC in an interview earlier this month. Mr Asif was speaking hours after India-Pak military tension spiked against the backdrop of the terror attack in Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir last month; the attack, in which 26 people, mostly civilians, were killed was claimed by a proxy of the Lashkar-e-Taiba, a banned terrorist group that the India government has said operates from Pakistan soil and with support from the deep state. He was asked, on the record, if there were terrorists leaders or members of any terrorist organisation living in Pakistan. The Pak Defence Minister responded with an emphatic "no". Mr Asif also responded to questions about the United States belief Pakistan continues to allow terror groups - like the Jaish-e-Mohammed, which was behind the 2019 Pulwama and 2016 Uri attacks, in which 59 soldiers were killed - to raise funds through 'legitimate business'. "These (terrorism and terrorists) are things from our past..." Mr Asif began, pointing to the US' role in arming certain Afghanistan groups in the 1980s, during the Afghan-Soviet war. He argued that over the decades the US' hand in creating and arming 'mujahideen' groups, which were later reborn as terrorist outfits, was forgotten and Pak was left holding the bag. Among the outfits the US (and Pakistan too) had supported then included the Haqqani network, which had, and still has links with the Taliban and the Jaish and Lashkar groups. "The terrorists, which it is claimed that they are in Pakistan or their terrorist outfits are in Pakistan, they were allies of the US efforts in Afghanistan in the 80s. This thing keeps haunting us... that all these people who were actually our allies, or we were their allies... they're all 'dry-cleaned' now, but we are still 'dirty'. They still blame us for people who were their allies." "Who decides that your or me are terrorists or we are not terrorists?" "These (terrorist) leaders are no more... they are living, not dead, but do not indulge in terror activities, either in Pakistan or across the border in India or in any other country." This is the second in less than a month Mr Asif has acknowledged links between Pakistan and terrorists operating from its soil, and pointed to the US' role in fomenting those groups. Last month, three days after the Pahalgam attack, he was asked by British network Sky News about Pakistan's 'long history of... training and funding terrorist organisations?' To this he replied, "We have been doing this dirty work for the US for the past three decades..." READ | 'Doing Dirty Work For US, West...': Pak Minister Admits To Funding Terrorism India has repeatedly accused Pak of housing and protecting terror groups, and supporting cross-border attacks in J&K, like Pahalgam, Pulwama, and Uri, and also attacks in other parts of the country, including the assault on Parliament in 2001 and in Mumbai on 26/11. 40 CRPF personnel were killed in the February 2019 Pulwama terror attack. Pakistan has denied these charges despite a growing volume of evidence to the contrary - this includes links to terror attacks worldwide, like the 2005 London bombings. READ | Pak 'One Of World's Most Dangerous, Terror Trail In Moscow, London' And efforts to get the global community on its side have fallen flat too; after Pahalgam, for example, a closed-door consultation of the United Nations Security Council ignored Pak's complaints and asked tough questions about Lashkar and other terror groups continuing to operate from its territory. India underlined links between the Pak Army and known terrorists last week. In a special briefing after Operation Sindoor, the government pointed to 'state funerals' for some of the men killed in the Indian air strikes, men of whom it said there was proof of terrorist links. The government pointed out that senior Pak Army figures were present for the funerals.
Express Tribune
14-03-2025
- Business
- Express Tribune
Wakhan Corridor can act as a shield against terrorism
The writer is a public policy analyst based in Lahore. She can be reached at durdananajam1@ Listen to article Pakistan's relationship with Afghanistan has been marked by shared histories, cultural ties and decades of geopolitical upheaval. Despite these commonalities, the bilateral relationship has often been fraught with mistrust and conflict. While Pakistan played a crucial role in supporting Afghanistan during times of crisis, it has borne huge costs — economically, socially, and in terms of security. Today, emerging threats such as the Wakhan Corridor risk further destabilising Pakistan, presenting challenges that require urgent attention and innovative solutions. Pakistan's involvement in Afghanistan's wars has left it grappling with dire consequences. The 1980s witnessed Pakistan becoming a frontline state in the Afghan-Soviet conflict, a role that reshaped its internal dynamics. With the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in the 2000s, Pakistan once again became enmeshed in its neighbour's chaos. Despite providing crucial support to Western efforts and suffering from the spillover effects of Afghanistan's instability, Pakistan's contributions were often overlooked. The statistics paint a grim picture. Over 80,000 lives were lost, and direct and indirect economic losses exceeded $450 billion - a staggering sum that dwarfs any financial aid Pakistan received. Between 2001 and 2017 alone, Pakistan suffered annual losses of $7.7 billion, totaling $123.2 billion, far surpassing what it spent on education, healthcare and welfare during the same period. Western aid was mere reimbursement rather than compensation for the massive toll inflicted by Afghanistan's enduring crises. This relentless instability also crippled Pakistan's infrastructure, displaced millions and fueled extremism within its borders. Amidst these challenges, a new threat has emerged in the form of the Wakhan Corridor - a narrow, mountainous passageway that connects Afghanistan to China while skirting Pakistan's northernmost border. This corridor, historically linked to Pakistan before colonial demarcations, has become a porous gateway for Afghan-based militants. Its unchecked nature enables terrorist groups to infiltrate Pakistan, China and Central Asia, destabilising the entire region. Adding to this is Afghanistan's paradoxical stance on regional connectivity. While the Taliban openly allows India access to Afghan airbases and trade routes, they resist Pakistan's legitimate ambitions for regional connectivity. This clear bias undermines Afghanistan's own economic interests and highlights the complexities of the geopolitical landscape. Such policies create further isolation and hamper cooperation that could benefit all. The Wakhan Corridor's vulnerability to extremism and its role in obstructing regional trade make it a critical issue for Pakistan. Without security measures, this passageway risks becoming a transit hub for militants, exacerbating Pakistan's internal security threats and undermining its efforts to promote regional stability. To address this multifaceted challenge, Pakistan must adopt a proactive approach. First, Pakistan could explore diplomatic and legal avenues to negotiate the leasing or acquisition of the Wakhan Corridor, securing a direct trade route to Central Asia. Such a move would not only enhance regional connectivity but also reduce reliance on unstable Afghan transit routes. If negotiations fail, Pakistan might consider constructing a tunnel to bypass Afghanistan altogether, providing a stable and secure link to Central Asia. Second, Pakistan must collaborate with neighboring countries, including China and CARs, to advocate for collective security measures in the Wakhan Corridor. Joint initiatives could prevent the corridor from becoming a safe haven for terrorists while promoting shared economic interests. Lastly, Pakistan should invest in regional dialogue, emphasising the mutual benefits of connectivity and stability for all stakeholders, including Afghanistan. The Wakhan Corridor represents both a historical legacy and a contemporary challenge for Pakistan. The corridor offers an opportunity to redefine regional dynamics. With strategic foresight and collaborative efforts, Pakistan can transform this neglected gateway into a bridge of economic prosperity and peace.
