ISLAMABAD — Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry has criticized the international community for “abandoning” Afghanistan after the war, saying that better socioeconomic conditions within the country could have helped the Afghan people prosper.
The statement came in response to remarks by Jan Egeland, the head of the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), who highlighted Afghanistan’s worsening humanitarian crisis during a visit to the country. Pakistan expressed gratitude to Egeland for drawing attention to the dire situation but underscored its longstanding role in hosting Afghan refugees.
“For 40 years, Pakistan has generously hosted over four million Afghan refugees,” the ministry stated. It also noted that those recently deported were residing illegally without documentation or proof of residence.
The Foreign Ministry acknowledged slow progress on the resettlement of Afghan nationals promised refuge in Western countries, calling it “painfully slow.” It also emphasized that U.N. humanitarian aid to Afghanistan remains critically underfunded, with only 37.5 percent of required funds secured last year.
On Saturday, Egeland warned that the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan is being overlooked by the global community. He noted that 22 million people in Afghanistan require urgent aid, with women and children disproportionately affected.
“Here in Herat, I met women who had been deported without their husbands, returning to deep poverty and hopelessness,” Egeland said.
Egeland also raised concerns about the mass deportation of Afghan migrants from neighboring countries, stating that Pakistan has expelled 800,000 Afghans, while Iran plans to deport an additional two million.
The situation has drawn sharp criticism from humanitarian organizations, which continue to call for increased international support to address the escalating crisis in Afghanistan.
