Pakistan’s defence minister urges end to support for Afghan students
Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif, repeating security allegations against Afghans, has called on Pakistani students not to support the presence of Afghan students in the country, remarks made amid uncertainty over the continued studies of some Afghan students in Pakistan.
On Sunday, Sept. 29, he wrote on his X account that Pakistan had sheltered Afghans for the past five decades and shared its “limited resources” with them. Asif also claimed that after NATO forces withdrew from Afghanistan, Islamabad had hoped its borders would remain secure and that countries in the region would live in peace.
The Pakistani defence minister claimed that 70% to 80% of those carrying out terrorist attacks in the country and targeting Pakistan’s army are Afghans. He said the perpetrators of attacks on Pakistan’s mosques, schools and markets are “mostly Afghan” and that some of them also express solidarity with India.
The Taliban administration has repeatedly rejected these claims. Pakistan has repeatedly accused the Taliban administration of allowing anti-Pakistan armed groups to operate from Afghan soil, but Taliban officials have not accepted the allegations.
Asif also said Pakistan’s military and civilian leadership had been in direct and indirect contact with these individuals, but he said those efforts had failed to reduce what he called the “hatred and hostility of Afghans.” Responding to support from some Pakistani students for Afghan students, he said this backing was not out of “affection” and described it as a reflection of their political leanings.
The Pakistani defence minister, reposting a video of a female student who had supported the presence of Afghan students in Pakistan, said such positions insult the blood of soldiers and civilians who, he said, are killed in attacks by those “coming from Afghanistan.”
The remarks come after Pakistan this month ordered Afghan students in medical and dentistry programmes to return. On Sept. 1, the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council instructed universities and medical colleges to prepare enrolled Afghan students to return to Afghanistan and to prevent the admission of any new Afghan students in the current academic year.
However, the implementation of the order has been halted for now. The Lahore High Court temporarily suspended the decision on Sept. 11 and extended that suspension on Sept. 18; the case is now under review following a complaint by Afghan students.
In recent years, Pakistan has repeatedly linked the presence of Afghans, especially refugees and students, to security concerns, an approach that has in some cases directly affected the residency and education status of Afghan citizens in the country.
