Author: Chris Kodo

The government of Japan wants a court to close down a church that is being looked into because of the killing of a previous prime minister, Shinzo Abe, according to local news.

Last July, Abe’s unexpected death brought attention to the Unification Church, also known as “Moonies”.

The person who attacked him, Tetsuya Yamagami, said the church made his mother lose all her money and blamed Abe for encouraging it.

The church claims that it has been wrongly criticized for Abe’s murder.

The investigation, which Prime Minister Fumio Kishida requested, lasted for one year.

If the Unification Church is disbanded, it will lose its tax advantages, but it can still continue working as a group.

Yamagami said that his mother was made to give money to the church, which she was a part of for thirty years. Similar claims have resulted in lawsuits that are worth a lot of money.

In Japan, if a religious group does things that are significantly bad for the well-being of the public, they can be disbanded by the government.

Japan’s education ministry recently requested the Tokyo District Court to impose a financial penalty on the church because they did not provide satisfactory answers to questions about their activities.

A lot of people were wondering about Abe’s relationship with the church before he died, especially on social media.

He spoke at a church event in 2021 through a video connection. His grandfather, who was also a former PM, was believed to have been supportive of the church because it opposed communism.

The Unification Church was started in South Korea in 1954. It is famous for organizing large weddings. The people who belong to this group are often called ‘Moonies’, because of their leader Sun Myung Moon.

According to researchers, it started in Japan in the 1960s and connected with politicians to increase its supporters and reputation.

The church has been involved in a lot of disagreement and problems for a long time. Critics say it is similar to a cult.

The church has been sued by many of its members who say they were made to give money to the church against their will. According to their lawyers, the people making the complaint have lost at least 5. 4 billion yen ($39 million; £33 million) in the last five years.

A recent investigation by the ruling party led by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida showed that 179 out of its 379 politicians had come into contact with the Unification Church.

Mr Kishida then told LDP lawmakers to stop being connected to the Unification Church, and made it clear that he did not personally know anyone from the group.

In October of last year, he agreed to look into the church’s actions, even though he had initially said no. He stated that he was taking the allegations of the church using its followers for money very seriously.

Professor Yoshihide Sakurai, who is an expert on cult issues and has written a book about the Unification Church, believes that the influence of this controversial church could be significantly reduced.

According to Prof Sakurai, the public will start feeling cautious about it, and it will be seen as scandalous if politicians associate themselves with it.

However, the group still has many connected political and business organizations, including companies that publish newspapers, arrange travel, and sell goods. These organizations will not be affected by the court order, he explained.

Prof Sakurai said the court might not even agree to the dissolution order.

Many people believe that they chose to join the church and still do its activities. “He said it will be really hard for the court to declare the organization completely criminal because there are both victims and followers existing simultaneously. ”

Many Afghans who helped the UK in Afghanistan and escaped from the Taliban are now in Pakistan and unable to leave until they are taken to the UK.

Some people have told the BBC that they are scared all the time because Pakistan is taking action against migrants who do not have visas, especially after tensions increased at the border.

Marzia worked as a teacher of English for the British Council. She is very pregnant and has been waiting for a visa to go to the UK for eight months.

She says that she is not feeling well both physically and mentally.

When the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, our lives were threatened because of the jobs we had for the UK government. We had to stay hidden.

Marzia is one of the Afghans who helped the UK in some way before foreign forces quickly left when the Taliban came back to power in 2021. Other individuals are previous translators who worked for the British army. They are also people who were involved in projects led by the British to promote democracy and equality in Afghanistan. These individuals meet the requirements for the UK government’s programs to resettle them in the country. Everyone is in Pakistan because the government of the United Kingdom told them to come so they can get their visas approved.

Some people have been here for a long time, some even longer, as they wait for news about starting a new life in the UK. And when they are waiting, they cannot go to school or get a job legally.

Most of the people we talked to didn’t want their words to be mentioned by name. Some people wanted to stay anonymous, so we changed their names. Many people told us that they were scared that something bad would happen because of their situation, or that they or their family in Afghanistan could be specifically chosen by the Taliban for harm. The Taliban government has announced that former soldiers, contractors, and translators who worked for international forces in Afghanistan will not be punished.

Marzia said that when she arrived in the UK, the authorities took her passport. She also mentioned that the visa she used to enter Pakistan has expired.

In September, she was told by her caseworker at the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), her contact person in Pakistan, that she should stay in her guest house and not go out.

She already missed a doctor’s appointment and doesn’t know what to do about giving birth.

I can’t have my baby in my hotel room. She says there is nobody or anything to assist her.

Her voice becomes faster as she talks. My baby and I might get sick. We helped them, now it’s their turn to help us.
Five other individuals who had expired visas from Pakistan also mentioned that the IOM, or the place they were staying at, instructed them not to go outside.

When the BBC asked, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said they did not give the advice that was mentioned. They said that the IOM only advises people to leave their whereabouts information at their accommodation reception when they leave, so that they can be helped if needed.

We are currently waiting for responses from the UK.

We talked to individuals who were part of two government programs in the UK called ARAP (Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy) and ACRS (Afghan Citizen Resettlement Scheme).

In September, the government announced that about 2,730 people, specifically “principals” and their family members, were participating in these programs in Pakistan.

Since the UK cannot process visa applications in Afghanistan, people who are approved by the program and pass initial security checks are told to go to another country, usually Pakistan, on their own. This is so their biometrics (such as fingerprints) can be taken and final checks can be done.

It is hard to go out of the country. In Afghanistan, people have to wait a long time to get a passport. And it can take many months to get a visa for Pakistan. We talked to many people who are still hiding from the Taliban government, even though they were given amnesty. Some of them also told us that their homes were searched by the government.

In Pakistan, the UK government pays for their accommodations and meals. Many people told the BBC that they were advised to bring very little money to prevent problems at the border, but now those issues are mostly resolved.

They were told or thought they would only be in Pakistan for a few weeks, but now they are stuck and haven’t received any response from the UK.

One charity called the Sulha Alliance is working to help Afghan interpreters. They told us that many of them have been waiting for more than a year, and some have been waiting for almost two years.

Sara de Jong, one of the co-founders of the group, said that the programs were very important and necessary, but they have been implemented too slowly and have not been very effective.

Many Afghan interpreters and other people who we promised to help over two years ago are still in Afghanistan or waiting in Pakistan or other countries.

A spokesperson from the UK government said that they are keeping their promise to bring Afghans who are eligible to the UK. They are also giving out new visas to people from Afghanistan and other places so they can come live here.

UK committed to helping people in Afghanistan and has already brought around 24,600 people to safety. This includes a lot of people who are eligible for our Afghan resettlement programs.

This number represents British citizens and other people who have permission to stay in the UK and were brought out of Afghanistan during the 2021 operation. The government website says that out of this total, 21,526 individuals were part of the ACRS and ARAP programs.
‘Our lives are completely at risk’

Jamal worked as a translator for the British army. He happily shows me pictures of when he was in his military outfit. He has been in Islamabad for over five months and is currently staying with his children and wife in one room. He cannot work legally, and the only education his children receive is through online English lessons.

I left my mom and dad in Afghanistan, and they really need my help- I don’t have a job here to do anything. My kids couldn’t go to school for one year because of Covid. Then, the Taliban arrived and we couldn’t educate our children in Afghanistan. We also forgot about educating the children in Pakistan.

Qasim, who has experience working with authorities in the UK, joins him. After living with his family of 10 in one room for six months, he now regrets his decision to come.

“In Afghanistan, girls are not able to go to school, but here in this place neither can any of my children,” he said, expressing his frustration.

He thinks that if he joins the program, he would be in more danger if he goes back.

“Before we left Afghanistan, our lives were somewhat in danger, but now they are in extreme danger. ”

They are even more scared of the police in Pakistan. They knew there was a chance of being stopped on the street. Recently, some people in the ARAP program said that the police came to their hotel late at night and took them to a police station. But they were let go after a few hours.

Qasim says that a person’s personal life should be safe no matter where they live, but unfortunately that is not always the case. Since the police began searching hotels, Afghan people have been very worried and stressed. This has affected not only my family but also many others, causing them mental health issues. This action by the police is very harsh and unacceptable.
“He says we can’t be sure if we will get arrested or not. ”

The British authorities have sent a message to the BBC explaining that they are still working with the Pakistani authorities to address the problem of expired visas. They also said that if any issues arise, they will take action quickly to resolve them.

But the two men and others that the BBC talked to are still very scared.

Just like Marzia, they don’t have their passports and their visas for Pakistan are no longer valid.

‘British government – take fast action’

We asked the government about the legal status of the people in the ARAP and ACRS programs because Pakistan authorities are taking action against illegal migrants. However, the government did not answer our question.

Pakistan has announced that it is working to stop illegal migrants, but this is not specifically aimed at Afghan people. The government minister who introduced the policy stated that there are about 1. 7 million illegal migrants in the country.

Afghans are living in Pakistan without permission.

Experts believe that the reason for this action is the growing conflict between two nations. Pakistan claims that the Taliban government is providing shelter to militant groups who harm Pakistani people.

Afghanistan says it’s not true and claims that Pakistani police are bothering Afghans, even when they have the right paperwork. The consequences of the situation will impact a large number of Afghans who have come to Pakistan for refuge over many years.

In the midst of politics, people on these UK government programs wait every day to receive an email or phone call telling them they will no longer be a part of it.

Jamal says, “I helped them; I stood with them next to each other and supported them on the front line, but I don’t understand what the British government is doing for us. ” “They abandoned us a long time ago. ”

“I am asking the British government to please help us by taking us to the UK quickly. It is not good for us to stay here. ”