The capture of the Taliban in Afghanistan has led to a massive exodus of Afghans, who have been desperately trying to flee the country to escape the spiraling violence perpetrated by the fundamentalist group. But what has raised eyebrows is the fact that Muslim countries have closed their doors to Muslim refugees in Afghanistan. With the exception of Iran, all other major Muslim nations have shunned acceptance.
Iran, a Shiite-dominated country, already hosts 3.38 million refugees from Afghanistan, which is a Sunni-dominated country, according to data from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees or the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Of the 3.38 million, 7.80,000 are documented refugees, while 2 million are undocumented and 600,000 are Afghan passport holders.
The three provinces of Iran bordering Afghanistan have set up emergency tents to house Afghan refugees until conditions in Afghanistan are better. Iran is the only major Islamic country that has aligned itself with the official line adopted by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (ICO). Other major members of the OIC, including Pakistan, which hosts one of the largest Afghan refugees, have simply refused to accept more refugees this time.
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The ICO had held an emergency meeting on the crisis in Afghanistan on Sunday during which the core of the discussion was the safe evacuation of civilians. The OIC statement after the meeting stated: “The meeting stressed cooperation to facilitate safe evacuation operations and the need to provide safe corridors for this.”
The OIC represents 57 Muslim countries on 4 continents and is called the collective voice of the Muslim world. However, many Muslim nations have decided to ignore this collective voice at a time when it mattered most, with humanitarian issues involved after the repressive Taliban regime between 1996 and 2001 turning the country into a a center of terror worthless for the lives of women and civilians.
Why has Pakistan been reluctant to take in refugees?
According to the UNHCR database, Pakistan has 1.4 million registered Afghan refugees, while the total number, including undocumented refugees, could be around 3 million. Pakistan’s official response this time has been to close the border, as both Prime Minister Imran Khan and Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi remarked, saying “we cannot take any more”.
The real reason, however, is that Pakistan has been the main force driving the Taliban to take over most of Afghanistan by providing them with weapons, ammunition, training and funding. The Pakistani intelligence agency, ISI, is also said to be very close to the Taliban and ISI chief Hameed Faiz was recently seen in Afghanistan meeting with top Taliban leaders, including mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, who would be the next president of Afghanistan.
Pakistan’s greatest interest in Afghanistan requires a Taliban rule like that of the 1990s. With the Taliban back in power, it means that Pakistan will once again rule Afghanistan. And not accepting more Afghan refugees may be the first step in that direction. Pakistan is also expected to play a key role in the formation of the next government in Afghanistan.
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Silently, the UAE only allowed refugees to use it as a travel corridor
Along with Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were two other countries that had recognized the Taliban government in the 1990s. The ICO is led by Saudi Arabia, but the country has been silent on whether it will open its doors to Muslim refugees in Afghanistan. In fact, he has encouraged the Taliban to take over. His official statement read: “The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia expects the Taliban movement and all Afghan parties to work to preserve security, stability, lives and property and, at the same time, affirms its support for the people. Afghanistan and the decisions they make without interference. “
The OIC statement, however, specifically mentions that “civilians who want to leave Afghanistan must be allowed to do this.”
The United Arab Emirates has taken a similar measure. The OIC statement speaks of “the need to protect and respect the right to life, security and dignity of the people of Afghanistan in accordance with tolerant Islamic principles and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)” , but the UAE, a rich country A Muslim nation like Saudi Arabia has only agreed to allow 5,000 Afghan refugees to use it as a travel corridor to reach a third country, and this also at the request of the US. Afghan refugees can stay in the UAE for 10 days.
Protect the secular social fabric?
Bahrain also says Afghan refugees can use its transit facilities, but is largely silent on the Afghan refugee crisis in the hope that “all parties are committed to stabilizing the internal situation and protecting the lives of civilians. and the rule of law. “
Turkey, which wants to increase its influence in the Muslim world and the OIC, in particular, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who calls for the re-establishment of the caliphate in Turkey to use it as a tool to lead the Islamic world. ready to accept Afghan refugees. For Erdogan, Afghan refugees are not Muslim brothers, but a burden to be ignored and his country is even building a wall on Iran’s border to stop the influx of refugees.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh is against providing even temporary refuge to Afghan refugees. He cited the influx of Rohinyas to defend his decision. The United States has asked Bangladesh to provide temporary refuge to refugees, but the country has stated categorically that it is already overloaded with Rohingya refugees and therefore cannot allow Afghan refugees. According to the UNHCR database, Bangladesh had 8,645,457 Rohingya refugees in 2020.
Similar is the situation of three other Muslim countries in Central Asia that share a border with Afghanistan: Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. Uzbekistan does not expect to host Afghan refugees, while Turkmenistan has fortified its border. Tajikistan in July had said it would accept 1,00,000 Afghan refugees, but also warned its troops along the 1,400-kilometer-long border between Tajikistan and Afghanistan after the Taliban was captured.
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These Central Asian nations care about their secular social fabric and believe that Taliban leaders with fundamentalist and terrorist religious views of ISIS could enter as Afghan refugees. Therefore, they have decided to keep their borders with Afghanistan closed, accepting only a few. Even Uzbekistan has stopped issuing visas to Afghan citizens in recent months.
Some other OIC countries such as Albania and Uganda have agreed to give temporary refuge to Afghan refugees, but only after a request from the US. Albania will temporarily host 300 Afghan refugees. while Uganda has claimed responsibility for 2,000 Afghan refugees.
While the OIC is concerned about the “serious concern over the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Afghanistan due to the increased flow of internally displaced persons and refugees due to the current situation in the country,” rich Muslim countries they have not accepted Afghan refugees.
Depending on the size of their economy, these countries can easily shelter people fleeing Taliban terror: Turkey’s GDP is $ 720 billion, Saudi Arabia’s is $ 700 billion, the United Arab Emirates’s is $ 421 billion, Bangladesh is $ 324 billion and Pakistan is $ 263 billion, according to the world. Bank figures in current US dollars.
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