The tragic lives of Afghan refugees - PHOTO

For more than three decades, the country has been home to one of the world's largest refugee communities. Hundreds of thousands of Afghans have fled to Pakistan to escape the deadly wars and conflicts in their own homeland.Many left during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 - with more escaping following the Talbian's rise to power in 1996 and the U.S-led invasion in 2001. Today, whole generations of Afghan children are being born and raised in the slums of Pakistan.Awal Gul, 12, lives in a slum on the outskirts of the capital, Islamabad, and has never been to school. Instead, he works as a day laborer at a nearby vegetable market.'My land is in Afghanistan, and we have nothing in Pakistan,' he said.Many Pakistanis are growing frustrated with the Afghan refugees, who are perceived as bringing crime and terrorism to the country. These striking photos, taken by Associated Press photographer Muhammed Muheisen, capture some of the wide-eyed and dirt-poor Afghan children being raised in the slums of Pakistan.(dailymail.co.uk)ANN.Az