Pakistan not setting up new camps for Afghan refugees: Interior Minister

Lahore

Pakistan is not setting up any new camp to accommodateAfghan refugees trying to flee the war-ravaged neighbouring country after theTaliban seized power in Kabul, Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad has said.

Rashid said that there are no Afghan refugees at the border and the governmenthas not established any camp in the area, the Business Recorder newspaperreported.

Rashid's statement came on Sunday during his visit to the Torkham border afterreports that people were massing at the border and trying to enter Pakistanwhich already has been hosting about 3 million Afghan refugees.

According to officials, about half of the refugees staying in Pakistan areillegal as they have not been registered in the country. Officially about 1.5million are registered and have documents to stay, carry out businesses andmove across the border.

Pakistan has been saying since the unfolding of the current Afghan crisis thatit will not accept any more refugees. But its ministers have been issuingcontradictory statements about allowing Afghans to come.

While the interior minister has taken a tough line on the issue, Minister forInformation Fawad Chaudhary, said last week that the policy about women andchildren might be different. However, so far no clarification has been issued.

Officially it has also been stated that Pakistan has issued visas and traveldocuments to about 4,000 people in Afghanistan to enter Pakistan at the heightof the evacuation crisis. It is said that most of them were given three-weektransit visas to fly to various destinations in the West.

On August 15, the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan, two weeks before the US wasset to complete its troop withdrawal after a two-decade war.

The insurgents stormed across the country, capturing all major cities in amatter of days, as Afghan security forces trained and equipped by the US andits allies melted away.