EU censures Pakistan on refugee readmission deal
The European Union has censured Islamabad for difficulties in taking back migrants deported from the EU area to Pakistan.
“While discussions have been good and positive, we note that there are still difficulties with this readmission deal,” European Commission spokeswoman Natasha Bertaud told a news briefing in Brussels on Tuesday.
The EU has warned that it could take steps against Islamabad if it fails to comply with a deal on repatriations.
“The Commission is currently examining possible incentives - positive and negative - so that this accord is applied properly,” Bertaud said.
Pakistan was one of the top five countries of origin among the one million refugees who arrived in Europe last year.
Many Pakistani refugees, however, are being classified by the EU as economic migrants rather than refugees fleeing conflict.
Refugees considered to be economic migrants are deported.
Dumping undocumented immigrants
In 2015, Pakistan temporarily suspended a repatriation agreement signed in 2009 between the EU and Islamabad, citing a “blatant misuse” of the deal by EU officials. The EU disputed the claim.
In November 2015, the EU and Islamabad agreed to restore the suspended deal to facilitate the return of illegal Pakistani immigrants.
The repatriation deal was restored following a meeting between Pakistani officials and the EU migration chief Dimitris Avramopoulos.
In December, however, Islamabad sent dozens of deported refugees back to the EU, claiming Brussels had failed to provide adequate verification for their deportation.
Approximately 50,000 Pakistanis arrive in the EU for work each year. In 2014, about 21,000 illegal migrants were deported to Pakistan, according to EU statistics.
Pakistani refugees pay human smugglers hefty sums to get to Europe. However, less than 20 percent of them manage to receive refugee status from authorities.
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