The United States (US) has said that it believes it is important that neighbouring countries keep their borders open for refugees, a reference to Pakistan that comes as Islamabad maintains it cannot host anymore Afghanistan citizens.
During the weekly press briefing, Spokesperson for the United States Department of State, Ned Price, was asked whether discussions with Pakistan, Turkey and neighbouring countries asking them to keep their borders open for an outflow of refugees from Afghanistan were being held.
“Well, look, it is important, we believe, for countries – and I’m not going to speak to specific countries, but we believe it is important for countries to keep their borders open to potential refugee flows,” Price replied.
“We did not intend to signal out – to single out any particular country as a destination for refugees.”
However, Prime Minister Imran Khan among other senior Islamabad officials have repeated that Pakistan is not in a position to host more refugees. PM Imran earlier said that the only good outcome for Afghanistan is a political settlement, adding that if there is a protracted civil war, Pakistan will face a refugee problem.
In an interview aired on PBS NewsHour, the PM had said that Pakistan is hosting over three million Afghan refugees already.
“And what we fear is that a protracted civil war would lead to more refugees. Our economic situation is not such that we can have another influx,” he said.
The premier pointed out the government cannot bear the burden of Afghan refugees anymore as it has made hectic efforts to revive the national economy. “The other worry is that the civil war will flow into Pakistan.”
Meanwhile, National Security Adviser Moeed Yusuf during a presser also said that arrangements should be made to keep displaced Afghans inside their country.
When asked if Islamabad was ready to accept more refugees from Pakistan, Yusuf replied that it is the responsibility of the world to create a secure area inside Afghanistan, adding that Pakistan does not have the capacity to take more refugees.