Almost 200 nationals of foreign countries are waiting for Afghan government’s approval to issue them stay documents in Afghanistan – with some of them living in the country for more than 20 years.
The only reason is that the Afghan government does not have a law on asylum seekers, Hafiz Ahmad Miakhail, a spokesman for Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation told TOLOnews on Friday.
“After approval of the draft law (on asylum seekers), we will respond the asylum seekers’ request based on that law and their problems will be addressed,” Miakhail said.
The Ministry of Justice meanwhile said government can accept asylum requests of foreign nationals based on the international conventions on asylum seeking.
“The Ministry of Justice has received the draft law on asylum seekers from Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation. It has been included in this year’s legislative plan (of Ministry of Justice) and we will compete the process,” said Aman Riyazat, spokesman of Justice Ministry.
An asylum seeker from Tajikistan, Amir Hamza Alimov, said he has been living in Afghanistan with his family for the past 26 years, but so far, the Afghan government has not granted him citizenship.
“Our destiny is unclear,” Alimov said, adding that he has visited government offices many times for addressing his problem, but his fate is unknown.
Arzoya Taj-un-Nesa, Alimov’s wife, said she is a political asylum seeker and that she cannot go back to her country.
“For how long a mother should be away of her children? We are separated from our children. Since I remember, I have been away from some of my children, sometimes from three of them and sometimes from those who are in my home country (Tajikistan),” she said.
Sadaf Baluch, a citizen of Baluchistan of Pakistan, said she has been waiting for the approval of her asylum-seeking application for the past few years.
"We want to live here (in Afghanistan) as a citizen," said Sadaf Baluch.
Recent statistics by international organizations show that almost six million Afghans are living abroad as refugees.