Dozens of Afghan refugees held a protest in front of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office in Islamabad, saying that despite many promises by the organizations, there has been no practical action to address their problems.

The protestors expressed concern over their uncertain future.

“There is no quick case processing. The Afghans have been waiting for review of their cases for the past two to three years, for their cases to proceed. There are also pressures if someone does not have a visa,” said Faizullah Turk, an Afghan refugee in Pakistan.

These Afghan refugees also sent a letter to the UN and called for their problems to be addressed.

“The main problem of the Afghans is unemployment. The Afghans who are coming from Afghanistan to Pakistan are without work,” said Hedayatullah Ahadi, an Afghan refugee in Pakistan.

The Islamic Emirate called for the Afghan refugees to return to the country.

“The Afghan refugees should return to their country and the Afghans who have recently gone and lack documents, they should return to their country,” said Zabiullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Islamic Emirate.

Based on official statistics, more than 1.6 million Afghans have migrated to neighboring countries within the past nearly two years.