Some North Waziristan refugees at a camp in Khost province said they are not willing to live in a remote province after the current government decided to relocate them to other provinces away from the Durand Line, the de facto border between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The refugees who are stationed at a camp in the Golan region of Gurbaz district in Khost province, an area alongside the Durand Line, said they cannot afford to build new homes in other provinces due to their financial situation.

“We constructed these homes in eight years. They will be dismantled once more, and we will build new ones somewhere else. This is impossible, and it will be very difficult,” said Jamshid Massoud, a representative of Waziristan refugees in Khost, told TOLOnews.

“We are not leaving here. We have built houses here, we are happy here, and we are never leaving,” said Reshman Khan, a Waziristan refugee in Khost.

Families of refugees residing at the camp complained about inadequate assistance to them and want the current government and humanitarian organizations to assist them in a number of areas. 

“We ask the Islamic Emirate and all institutions to help us. No one pays attention here at the camp. We ask the UNHCR to help us,” said Hakmin, a Waziristan refugee in Khost.

“We don't have a country, and we don't have a home. The UNHCR and other agencies should help us. Here are poor and needy people. It is better to help them,” said Sayed Wali, a refugee in Khost.

But local officials in Khost told TOLOnews that the decision to relocate the Waziristan refugees to the country's remote provinces was made to maintain good relations between Kabul and Islamabad.

“The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan implements policies that are beneficial to both countries so that relations between Afghanistan and neighboring countries are positive, tension does not arise, and they are in peace,” Shabir Ahmad Osmani, the head of information and culture of Khost.

This comes as the Islamic Emirate's spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said a few days back that the Waziristan refugees who now reside along the Durand Line will be transferred to other regions in Afghanistan.

Earlier, Mujahid noted that the move aims to assure Islamabad that the refugees are not involved in attacks against the Pakistani government.