Reuters: NATO, Pakistan says millions of Afghans must go home

[Eugene]

NATO, Pakistan says millions of Afghans must go home

By David Brunnstrom
Reuters
Tuesday, January 30, 2007; 12:10 PM

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - NATO and Pakistan agreed on Tuesday that three million Afghan
refugees in Pakistan posed a security threat and needed to be repatriated.

Talks between Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and the 26 NATO countries with more
than 32,000 troops in Afghanistan centered on the need to close the refugee camps that
NATO sees as a recruiting ground for extremists, a NATO official said.

"The refugee camps pose a real threat," a NATO official said afterwards. "Certainly NATO
wants to see it done."

However, he stressed it was for Afghanistan, Pakistan and the U.N. refugee agency (UNHCR)
to determine the timing and that repatriation needed to be done properly.

-snip-

Full article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/30/AR2007013000715.html

[maddezmom]

1. Where are they going to go?

Will they have housing, clean drinking water, education? Or are they just going to move the camps from one country to the other?

[Eugene]

2. Or will they even be safe?

Much of Afghanistan is an active war zone.

This repatriation effort likely violates international law,
if that still counts for something.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

3. The question seems to assume

that the refugees in Pakistani camps have housing, water, education. Or that most people in Afghanistan have those things.

If it's up to the UN, I'd guess they'll move from camps in Pakistan to camps in Afghanistan, with housing and water, education to follow reasonably quickly. The bigger move will be to get them out of the camps altogether, and into "civilian" settings that will accept them.

Most of the refugees will not be a problem. But I'd guess the camps have a number of Taliban and AlQuaeda who fled the fighting with the U.S. in Afghanistan. Many of these folks will probably resist repatriation, and if moved to Afghanistan, will commit whatever violence necessary to get out of camp and into safer areas.

Separating the combatants from the civilian refugees will be a challenge for whatever group tackles the job (and I hope it's the UN, not the US).

[nealmhughes]

4. It is my understanding that wanting something done in the NWF and actually getting it are two very,

very different things! A lot of Pashtun might not like their brothers from across a British-drawn line not having their hospitality extended...

[lovuian]

5. We have millions of Mexican refugees in America Nato

32,000 troops send him to America ...do they know how absolutely ridiculous this is

all I can say is good luck
32,000 troops and 3 million people

thats impossible

[ohio2007]

6. Iran closed their refugee camps a year or two ago,

Iran has housed Afghan refugees since the Soviet era...then refugees from the Taliban era.
Some Afghan refugees may be second generation.