ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar held discussions with United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Filippo Grandi, state-media reported on Friday, with a focus on cooperating on the issue of Afghan refugees and recent attacks on Islamabad’s missions abroad allegedly by members of the Afghan diaspora.
Last weekend, a large crowd of people carrying Afghanistan’s flags trespassed the fence into the Pakistani consulate in Frankfurt and took down the Pakistan national flag hoisted atop the building, according to videos posted on social media. The attackers, who Pakistani media and some officials alleged were Afghan nationals, also pelted stones during the attack.
“The recent attacks and violent demonstrations by Afghani diaspora against Pakistan’s Diplomatic Missions in Frankfurt, London and Brussels also came under discussion,” Radio Pakistan said about Dar’s call with Grandi.
The two officials also “agreed to continue to work together to advance Pakistan-UNHCR cooperation and find a lasting solution to the issue of Afghan refugees.”
Relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan have soured since last year when Islamabad launched a deportation drive against illegal foreigners. Over 650,000 Afghans have been repatriated to their home country since.
The expulsion drive was launched after a spike in suicide bombings that Islamabad — without providing evidence — says mostly involved Afghans. Pakistan has also blamed them for smuggling and other militant violence and crime. At the time, cash-strapped Pakistan, navigating record inflation and a tough International Monetary Fund bailout program, also said undocumented migrants had drained its resources for decades.
Phase one of the ‘Illegal Foreigners’ Repatriation Plan’ put 1.4 million so-called “undocumented” Afghan refugees at risk. In phase two, around 600,00 Afghans who hold Pakistan-issued Afghan citizenship cards (ACCs) will be expelled while phase three is expected to target those with UNHCR-issued PoR cards. Last month Pakistan extended the deadline of PoR cards by a year following a request by Grandi.
Until November last year before it began the deportation drive, Pakistan was home to over 4 million Afghan migrants and refugees, about 1.7 million of whom were undocumented. Afghans make up the largest portion of migrants, many of whom came after the Taliban took over Kabul in 2021, but a large number have been present since the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
Islamabad insists the deportation drive is not aimed specifically at Afghans but all those living illegally in Pakistan, but the campaign has disproportionately targeted Afghan nationals.
Pakistan Deputy PM, UNHCR chief discuss Afghan refugee crisis, attacks on Islamabad’s missions abroad
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Pakistan Deputy PM, UNHCR chief discuss Afghan refugee crisis, attacks on Islamabad’s missions abroad
- People carrying Afghanistan flags attacked Pakistan’s Frankfurt consulate last weekend
- Over 650,000 Afghans deported since last year when Pakistan launched expulsion drive
Pakistan minister calls for integrating ocean awareness into education to preserve ecosystems
- Pakistan’s maritime sector posted a record $360 million profit in 2025 following a year of sweeping reforms
- Junaid Anwar Chaudhry says education equips youth to make informed decisions, contribute to blue economy
KARACHI: Pakistan’s Maritime Affairs Minister Junaid Anwar Chaudhry has urged integrating ocean awareness into formal education systems and empowering youth as active partners in order to preserve marine ecosystems, his ministry said on Saturday.
Chaudhry said this at a meeting with Minister of State for Education and Professional Training, Wajiha Qamar, who called on him and discussed strategies for enhancing marine education, literacy, and youth engagement in sustainable ocean management.
Pakistan’s maritime sector posted a record Rs100 billion ($360 million) profit in 2025 following a year of sweeping reforms aimed at improving port efficiency, cost-cutting, and safeguarding marine ecosystems to boost the blue economy.
“Understanding our oceans is no longer optional, it is essential for climate resilience, sustainable development, and the long-term health of our maritime resources,” Chaudhry said, highlighting the critical role of marine literacy.
The minister said education equips youth to make informed decisions and actively contribute to marine conservation and the blue economy, urging inclusion of marine ecosystems, conservation and human-ocean interactions into curricula, teacher training and global citizenship programs.
“Initiatives like ‘Ocean Literacy for All’ can mainstream these elements in national policies, school programs, and community workshops to build proactive citizenship on marine challenges,” he added.
Ocean Literacy for All is a UNESCO Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission–coordinated global initiative under the UN Ocean Decade (2021–2030) that promotes ocean awareness, education, and conservation.
Chaudhry announced reforms in maritime education, including granting degree-awarding status to the Pakistan Marine Academy, and the establishment of the Maritime Educational Endowment Fund (MEEF) to provide scholarships for deserving children from coastal communities.
“The scholarship program promotes inclusive development by enabling access to quality education for youth from over 70 coastal and fishing communities, particularly in Sindh and Balochistan,” he said.
The discussions underscored raising awareness about oceans, coastal ecosystems and marine resources, according to the Pakistani maritime affairs ministry. Both ministers stressed the need to integrate climate and marine education from classrooms
to community programs, addressing risks like rising sea temperatures, coastal erosion, biodiversity loss and pollution.
“Incorporating marine science and ocean literacy into curricula can help students connect local challenges with global trends,” Qamar said, underscoring education’s transformative power in building social resilience.
The meeting explored translating complex marine science into accessible public knowledge through sustained, solution-oriented awareness campaigns, according to the maritime affairs ministry.
With coastline facing pressures from climate change, pollution, and overexploitation, the ministers called for a coordinated approach blending formal education, informal learning and youth-led advocacy.
“A joint effort by the Ministries of Maritime Affairs and Education can cultivate an ocean-literate generation, transforming vulnerability into resilience and ensuring the long-term sustainability of coastal and marine ecosystems,” Chaudhry said.
