New Delhi: Afghan refugees in New Delhi had staged a protest at Jantar Mantar, against Pakistan's involvement in Afghanistan on Thursday. Afghans from various walks of life were seen holding placards and raising slogans such as 'ISI leave Afghanistan', 'Free Afghanistan', 'Stand up for Panjhsir' etc. They expressed utmost anger and frustration over the Taliban take over and Pakistan’s duplicitous strategy in the war-torn nation. They urged Pakistan to leave Afghanistan and free the country from their intrusion and whatever ulterior motives they carry with them.
Speaking to ETV Bharat, Mohammad Ahmadi, an Afghan refugee who travelled from Pune to the national capital, said, "We gathered here to show our frustration and anger against the interference of Pakistan in Afghanistan. We all are with resistance and will continue to support resistance."
The protest at Jantar Mantar saw the participation of more than 200 Afghan refugees living in and around New Delhi.
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The protest came in the wake of a drone attack being carried out by Pakistan earlier this month, which led to the death of a spokesman of the Resistance Front and a well-known journalist, Fahim Dashti. Another senior member who had lost his life in the fight is General Abdul Wudod Zara, nephew of Panjshir resistance leader Ahmad Massoud.
Earlier this month, the Pakistan ISI chief Gen. Faiz Hamid visited Kabul to meet the Taliban leadership. It was learnt that he was there helping the Taliban defeat the resistance forces in Panjshir.
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Later, the Afghan Solidarity Committee on behalf of Afghan refugees and asylum seekers in New Delhi submitted a memorandum to the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi, calling for an immediate end to Pakistan’s interference in the internal affairs in Afghanistan.
"You, the Pakistani military, have been the product of cultivating fundamentalist terrorists, training religious extremists and exporting them to our oppressed country. We send death to your negative actions," the memorandum read.
They further urged the international community and the United Nations not to allow an illegitimate and authoritarian government to be recognised at the behest of Pakistan.
In a memorandum written to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the Afghan refugees in Delhi, said, "We urge you to work together to ensure social justice, travel immunity, human rights, genuine freedom of expression, and the right to a secure life for a suffering Afghan society."
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Another Afghan refugee named Fauzia, said, "We are here to submit the memorandum in the Pakistan embassy urging them to ‘step back, otherwise, we are not going to spare them. Wherever or whichever country we are, we will always support or stand up for our own country of Afghanistan.
"The situation in Afghanistan has led to a financial crisis too for which, my family is not receiving any money for daily expenses. Women are beaten up brutally and Pakistan is behind all these, backing the Taliban. I have been living here in India for the last 11 years and in the year 2009, my husband was killed by the Taliban too. We are not upset with India and its people. We are happy here but Pakistan has created a lot of problems for us”, she said.
