Introduction with legal protection and justification to stay in Sri Lanka. They are not allowed to find legal employment, and the state does not provide them with any support or services. In the days immediately following the Easter Sunday attacks, refugees and asylum-seekers from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran came under attack and faced intimidation, threats and harassment. Many were evicted from their rented homes. The presidential election campaign in November 2019 as well as the on-going politically sensitive climate regarding Muslims have resulted in the government taking drastic measures towards asylum-seekers, and at least informally, there appears to now be a policy to deport them. State of South Asian Minorities26 This section consists of a summary of the last chapter, ‘State of Minorities in South Asia, 2019’, which provides an update on the status of minorities in countries across South Asia. The update outlines some key events in each country that have a bearing on minorities, including political, policy, and legal developments. Afghanistan The result of the September presidential election in Afghanistan has finally revealed that the incumbent Ashraf Ghani has been re-elected and the current Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah has promptly contested the result. The dispute over the election results marked the deep ethnic polarisation and has raised fears of instability with dire implications on minorities. The government of the current president has been accused of fuelling ethnic tensions and of favouring his own ethnic group over other ethnicities, causing widespread resentment among other ethnic groups. Another important development in 2019 was the peace talks with Taliban insurgents. However, as the talks continue between the US and the group, there are speculations that intra-Afghan peace talks would also begin, following an initial agreement between the parties to the current peace negotiations. The Taliban have continued to haggle over power-sharing and might win a big share of power 26 All the sources cited have been retained in the chapter dealing with the state of South Asia’s minorities and removed from the introduction in order to avoid duplication. xlv