Pakistani prime minister to grant citizenship to 1.5 million Afghan refugees

[brooklynite]

Source: The Hill

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan said in a surprise announcement that he would grant citizenship to the roughly 1.5 million Afghan refugees who were born in Pakistan.

Khan made the pledge during a public event in Karachi on Sunday, The Guardian reported.

“Afghans whose children have been raised and born in Pakistan will be granted citizenship inshallah (God willing) because this is the established practice in countries around the world,” Khan said. “They are humans. How come we have deprived them and have not arranged for offering them national identification card and passport for 30 years, 40 years?”

Pakistan has hosted fleeing Afghanistan since the Soviet Union invaded in 1979, the outlet noted.

Read more: https://thehill.com/regulation/international/406974-pakistani-prime-minister-to-grant-citizenship-to-15-million-afghan

[summer_in_TX]

1. A wonderful, enlightened position.

Hope it is a signal that life is looking up for all Pakistanis under their new prime minister – and that the example he is setting becomes one that other nations emulate (especially ours).