'Pakistan in no condition to accept more Afghan refugees,' says NSA Moeed Yusuf

Pakistan’s National Security Advisor (NSA), Moeed Yusuf on Wednesday, said that his country is incapable of holding any more refugees from conflict-hit Afghanistan. Addressing a press briefing in Islamabad, Moeed Yusuf said that Pakistan was battered with multiple challenges including financial and security constraints and wasn’t in the “condition” to host any more refugees. Ever since the Taliban took control of the Central Asian country, hundreds of residents fled to Pakistan, majorly via the land border of Chaman. 

“Pakistan is in no condition right now to accept any more refugees,” Yusuf told a news conference, adding that the Islamic Republic was already hosting more than 3 million Afghan refugees who had fled the war and violence in their country over the past decades.

While the top official reckoned that Pakistan is willing to ramp up efforts for Afghan refugees, he pointed out the threat of cross border terrorism. “You don't need to think too much to know what will happen. There will be a security vacuum. You already know ISIS is present there, Pakistani Taliban are present there, al-Qaeda is there,” he said. Additionally, NSA Yusuf also highlighted regional security threats stemming from the Taliban takeover. “If Afghanistan destabilizes the spillover effect comes to Pakistan,” he said asking the international community to negotiate with the insurgent and establish peace in Afghanistan. 

Turkey builds bulwark to stop migration 

This comes as Turkey's Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu on Wednesday denied accepting the influx of refugees coming from Afghanistan. According to a report by the news agency, Xinhua, Turkey has been extending the construction of a wall on its eastern Van province border with Iran in order to secure the country from the migrant influx. The media report said that the country has already built 221 kilometres border wall near the Iran borders and it was planning to add another 242 kilometres. The news agency claimed that the decision was taken during a meeting on the issue of migration on September 15. "Our agreements with Iran has resulted favourably. We are purposing to finish the 20 kilometres on our (southeastern province) Hakkari border by this Christmastime," Xinhua news agency quoted him as saying.

(With inputs from PTI) 
Image: YusufMoeed/Twitter/AP