Islamabad: Europe campaigns to fast-track the deportation of tens of
thousands of illegal Pakistani travelers in a bid to free up space and
resources for refugees with more genuine asylum requests, a senior diplomat
said Monday.
According to report in Washington Post, Dimitris
Avramopoulos, the European commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and
Citizenship, delivered the message during a visit to Pakistan’s capital in
response to the ongoing refugee crisis. Although Syrians and Afghans make up
the bulk of the most recent arrivals, Pakistanis also have been seeking asylum
in Europe. The arrival is adding to the strain on Europe as it struggles to
cope with the 760,000 migrants who have arrived there this year.
But with Pakistan’s
government relatively stable and the danger of Islamist militancy diminishing
here, fewer than 20 percent of Pakistanis are granted asylum in Europe if they
arrive illegally, officials said. “Pakistanis will not qualify as
political refugees,” Avramopoulos said. “Pakistan is under a democratic
process. It is not a country where its citizens are persecuted, and great
progress has been done by authorities in Pakistan in order to pave a democratic
perspective for their country.”
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