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“Afghan immigrants ordered out of Pakistan in what officials say is a bid to root out militants are, some analysts say, scapegoats being used to distract attention from the authorities' failure to end violence. Thousands of Afghans unnerved by threats of arrest and growing hostility towards them have flocked out of Pakistan back home, leaving behind boarded-up shops, houses and restaurants. Within hours of a December 16 attack on a school in the city of Peshawar in which more than 150 people were killed, officials pointed the finger at Afghanistan and vowed to crack down on illegal immigrants whom they say furnish a cover for militants. Thousands of Afghans have since left, with long queues of cars loaded with belongings snaking through the Khyber Pass up to the border. Many more are packing their bags in Peshawar and preparing to leave”. – Jibran Ahmad and Rafiz Shirzad via Reuters


Afghan refugee women, clad in a burqa, climb on a truck to be repatriated to Afghanistan, at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office on the outskirts of Peshawar February 13, 2015. (Photo by Fayaz Aziz/Reuters)

Afghan refugee women, clad in a burqa, climb on a truck to be repatriated to Afghanistan, at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office on the outskirts of Peshawar February 13, 2015. Afghan immigrants ordered out of Pakistan in what officials say is a bid to root out militants are, some analysts say, scapegoats being used to distract attention from the authorities' failure to end violence. Thousands of Afghans unnerved by threats of arrest and growing hostility towards them have flocked out of Pakistan back home, leaving behind boarded-up shops, houses and restaurants. (Photo by Fayaz Aziz/Reuters)




An Afghan refugee woman, clad in burqa, sits on ground with her baby while waiting to go back to Afghanistan with others, at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office on the outskirts of Peshawar February 13, 2015. (Photo by Fayaz Aziz/Reuters)

An Afghan refugee woman, clad in burqa, sits on ground with her baby while waiting to go back to Afghanistan with others, at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office on the outskirts of Peshawar February 13, 2015. (Photo by Fayaz Aziz/Reuters)




An Afghan refugee family stands by trucks loaded with their belongings as they wait to go back to Afghanistan with others, at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office on the outskirts of Peshawar February 13, 2015. (Photo by Fayaz Aziz/Reuters)

An Afghan refugee family stands by trucks loaded with their belongings as they wait to go back to Afghanistan with others, at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office on the outskirts of Peshawar February 13, 2015. (Photo by Fayaz Aziz/Reuters)




Afghan refugee Haji Arsala Khan (C) who have a residency card which will expire on December 2015, sits with his friends in a poultry shop at a market on the outskirts of Peshawar February 18, 2015. (Photo by Fayaz Aziz/Reuters)

Afghan refugee Haji Arsala Khan (C) who have a residency card which will expire on December 2015, sits with his friends in a poultry shop at a market on the outskirts of Peshawar February 18, 2015. (Photo by Fayaz Aziz/Reuters)




An elderly Afghan refugee man, who have residency a card which will expire on December 2015, walks along a market on the outskirts of Peshawar February 18, 2015. (Photo by Fayaz Aziz/Reuters)

An elderly Afghan refugee man, who have residency a card which will expire on December 2015, walks along a market on the outskirts of Peshawar February 18, 2015. (Photo by Fayaz Aziz/Reuters)




An Afghan refugee family walks past trucks loaded with their belongings as they prepare to go back to Afghanistan with others, at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office on the outskirts of Peshawar February 13, 2015. (Photo by Fayaz Aziz/Reuters)

An Afghan refugee family walks past trucks loaded with their belongings as they prepare to go back to Afghanistan with others, at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office on the outskirts of Peshawar February 13, 2015. (Photo by Fayaz Aziz/Reuters)




An elderly Afghan refugee woman is helped by family members to board a truck as they prepare to go back to Afghanistan with others, at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office on the outskirts of Peshawar February 18, 2015. (Photo by Fayaz Aziz/Reuters)

An elderly Afghan refugee woman is helped by family members to board a truck as they prepare to go back to Afghanistan with others, at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office on the outskirts of Peshawar February 18, 2015. (Photo by Fayaz Aziz/Reuters)




An Afghan refugee boy Wahid, whose family have a residency card which will expire on December 2015, sets up items for sell at his makeshift shop on the outskirts of Peshawar February 18, 2015. (Photo by Fayaz Aziz/Reuters)

An Afghan refugee boy Wahid, whose family have a residency card which will expire on December 2015, sets up items for sell at his makeshift shop on the outskirts of Peshawar February 18, 2015. (Photo by Fayaz Aziz/Reuters)




An Afghan refugee man, who have a residency card which will expire on December 2015, puts women dresses on display at his shop on the outskirts of Peshawar February 18, 2015. (Photo by Fayaz Aziz/Reuters)

An Afghan refugee man, who have a residency card which will expire on December 2015, puts women dresses on display at his shop on the outskirts of Peshawar February 18, 2015. (Photo by Fayaz Aziz/Reuters)




Muhammad Ahmad, an Afghan refugee, whose family have a residency card which will expire on December 2015, waits for customers while selling wall clocks and general items from his makeshift stall on the outskirts of Peshawar February 18, 2015. (Photo by Fayaz Aziz/Reuters)

Muhammad Ahmad, an Afghan refugee, whose family have a residency card which will expire on December 2015, waits for customers while selling wall clocks and general items from his makeshift stall on the outskirts of Peshawar February 18, 2015. (Photo by Fayaz Aziz/Reuters)
20 Feb 2015 12:27:00