The Refugee Council is calling on the federal government to engage with the Pakistani government over its policy that is forcing Afghans, including many women and girls, to return to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.
Since October 31, a deadline from the Pakistani government has seen more than 200,000 Afghans cross back into Afghanistan from Pakistan.
It comes after the Pakistani government said all migrants living without legal status in Pakistan had 28 days to leave or they would be deported. It has meant many Afghans, including women and girls, are returning to Afghanistan where they are at grave risk of being persecuted by the Taliban.
In Australia, the Refugee Council CEO Paul Power said the situation is a “significant escalation” of the structural violence facing Afghan refugees since the Taliban’s takeover.
He said many of them have family or sponsors in Australia awaiting outcomes for their applications.
“We are hearing that Afghans are facing increased harassment by police, being detained illegally, their homes are being confiscated and demolished, their businesses are being dismantled, and they are being forced to cross the border to Afghanistan,” Power said.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has already warned that Pakistan’s expulsion of Afghans risks triggering a “human rights catastrophe” and it’s women and girls who will bear the worst outcomes of the expulsion.
The Refugee Council is calling on the government to use diplomatic pressure to urge Pakistan’s government to abide by its fundamental non-refoulement and human rights obligations.
The council also wants the government to provide Afghan refugees with a means of regularising their legal status and provide exit permits to people who have resettlement pathways but are currently Pakistan without legal status.
Australian teachers fighting to save young women from returning to Taliban persecution
Elsewhere, a group of Australian teachers are urging the federal government to support a group of five female Afghan students who are at risk of being pushed back into the hands of the Taliban.
The teachers have been providing lessons to the Afghan women refugees via videolink at Virtual School Australia. The students had fled to Pakistan to avoid persecution by the Taliban but are now facing the threat of returning to Afghanistan, where they face danger and persecution.
Director of Virtual School Australia, Paramita Roy, said it was deeply distressing that these women may soon be forced back to the hands of the Taliban, and they want to see the Australian government grant visas to the women on humanitarian grounds.
“These young women are incredibly motivated, courageous, and keen to improve themselves, despite all the hardship they have gone through,” Roy said.
“Our students are targeted by the Taliban for many reasons, including Hazara ethnicity, working for NGOs, escaping from violent marriages, and being human rights activists.
“They are scared for their lives, knowing they will be imprisoned or executed by the Taliban if they return to Afghanistan. They are now hiding in rented shelters in Pakistan, fearing they will be found and knowing that, any day, their little freedom will be forever taken from them.
Roy also noted that as the Pakistani election approaches, violence and police brutality is escalating, putting the women in further danger.
“We have urged the Australian Government to grant Australian visas on humanitarian grounds to these intelligent and resilient young women who are despairing and rapidly losing hope for any kind of future. They would be an asset to our country,” Roy said.
“As teachers, we have built a strong rapport with our intelligent, articulate and resilient students. We are devastated at the heartbreaking news that they are now in this dire situation.”
Feature Image: Two of the young Afghan students. Supplied from Virtual School Australia.