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Pakistan To Begin Mass Deportation Of Hundreds Of Thousands Of Afghans
The biggest refugee repatriation operation in the world is underway. It is the cover for Pakistan's mass-export of al Qaeda operatives back to where they came from — Afghanistan. The UN refugee agency reports that from 2002, nearly 2.4 million Afghan refugees returned home from Pakistan. This week, General Pervez Musharraf gave the remaining estimated 400,000 until June 30 to leave the country or face expulsion. Most live along Pakistan's northwestern border. Islamabad explains its action on the grounds that the tribal belts of North and South Waziristan have been sanctuaries for hundreds of al-Qaeda linked terrorists and the Taliban. The presence of the refugees complicates the hunt for them and adds to Pakistan's security problems. Pakistani authorities claim terrorists are buried among these Afghan refugees and the expulsion order will deport them too. DEBKAfile's correspondent quotes diplomatic sources in the capital as referring to the belief of US intelligence agents that al-Qaeda and Taliban operatives who took shelter in Pakistan as refugees are now regrouping and moving back into Afghanistan. Their numbers are small but are expected to swell, posing fresh dangers to the Karzai government's stability in Kabul. American military strength in Afghanistan is not nearly large enough to deal with any major influx. Posted by: Anonymoose 2005-06-11 |
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