Pakistan, June 21 -- Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif, in her message on World Refugee Day, said that becoming a refugee was not a crime but a painful compulsion, adding that no one chose to become displaced willingly.

She said people were often forced to leave their homes, land and shelter in order to save their lives. "No one becomes a refugee by choice. One has to abandon one's courtyard, one's soil and one's roof to survive," she said.

The chief minister observed that while wars eventually ended, the suffering of displaced people and the trauma of homelessness often persisted for generations.

Referring to the plight of refugees from Palestine and Syria, Maryam Nawaz said their continued displacement posed a serious challen...