Hundreds of Afghan artists, who fled to Pakistan last year after the Taliban seized control of Kabul, have demanded registered refugee status.
According to The Guardian, Ajmal Haikalzada, 44, said that Pakistan has not provided the safety he hoped. He was arrested last month when a crackdown on Afghan refugees began.
“As Afghanistan was no longer a country for artists, I sold all my musical instruments to save my life. I thought we could perform music and preserve our art in Pakistan but we were wrong. The police asked for my national identity card and upon seeing it, they arrested me as I am an unregistered refugee.”
Ustad Sanam Gul, 50, a renowned musician from Afghanistan who fled to Pakistan, said: “Taliban should allow music and I also request Pakistani authorities to help us perform and connect with [the] masses, instead of harassing us and keeping us under surveillance.”
Organisations including Hunari Tolana, Hunar Kor and Mafkoora have been campaigning for the rights of more than 150 Afghan artists registered with them.
Mafkoora President Hayat Roghani said they have asked the UNHCR and Pakistani authorities to give proof of registration to Afghan artists.
“We are just asking for PORs for Afghan artists who should be allowed to travel and perform in Pakistan.”
Honestly, we screwed their lives by interfering in their country’s affairs. All it did was to satisfy our ego that we ‘defeated’ TWO superpowers. It also made our Defense forces a veritable monsters with insatiable appetite for our country’s resources and also bankrupted us no one seems to care. The least we can do these poor Afghans is give them refugee status.