CONSERVATIVE
New Forest East

FOREIGN AFFAIRS – AFGHAN REFUGEES IN NEIGHBOURING STATES - 25 November 2021

FOREIGN AFFAIRS – AFGHAN REFUGEES IN NEIGHBOURING STATES - 25 November 2021

Dr Julian Lewis: I am a huge admirer of my hon. Friend and of the work she does in this field. I am trying to help a Hazara Afghan woman who successfully got into Pakistan undocumented, but even now she has to remain in hiding lest our Pakistani “friends and allies” discover her and send her back to the tender mercies of the Taliban. Is that not a good illustration of what my hon. Friend is talking about?

[Fiona Bruce: Very much so. If my right hon. Friend would like to give me more details, I will pass them on appropriately. …

In Afghanistan, we spoke directly to members of several religious communities, including Christians, Sikhs, Muslims and Hazaras, and the non-governmental organisations supporting them. Those who do not submit to the beliefs of the Taliban are frequently at risk of losing their life, and some have lost their lives. We heard of some 1,000 Hazaras who had been thrown out of their homes and were wandering the countryside, with a dozen or so found by others beheaded at the roadside. Relocation and resettlement schemes urgently need to include religious minorities. As we heard from my right hon. Friend the Member for New Forest East (Dr Lewis), refugees who have fled to neighbouring countries continue to be vulnerable. …]