Globe and Mail: Afghan refugees in Pakistan are facing financial and accommodation problems

The Globe and Mail newspaper in a report from Pakistan says that a number of Afghan refugees asked the Canadian government to speed up the process of their asylum procedures in Canada. Because, they cannot afford to stay in Pakistan and have problems with shelter and visa.

Some of these refugees are former colleagues of the Canadian government in Afghanistan, and some of them are eligible to apply for asylum in Canada as vulnerable Afghans such as judges and human rights activists.

According to this Canadian newspaper, these refugees are facing severe economic problems, visa extension and shelter rent.

A spokesperson for Canada’s immigration minister told the Globe and Mail that Canada is committed to resettling 40,000 Afghan refugees in Canada and that they expect more refugees to arrive in the country in the coming weeks.

Aiden Strickland said: “We have had a constructive conversation with the government of Pakistan to facilitate the departure of Afghans eligible to stay in Canada, as a result of which 15 chartered planes carrying Afghan refugees have arrived in Canada since the beginning of this year.”

According to Canadian government statistics, 18,540 Afghan refugees have settled in this country in the past year.

The slow process of settling Afghan refugees from countries such as Pakistan and Tajikistan has brought criticism from opposition parties and supporters of refugee rights. It is said that cumbersome administrative regulations and lack of capacity to process the cases of these asylum seekers in Canada’s immigration system played a role in this shortcoming.