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UNHCR wants extension in Afghan refugees stay -DAWN - National; July 27, 2008
PESHAWAR, July 26: The United Nations High Commission for Refugees has called for allowing Afghan refugees to stay in Pakistan for at least four more years.
According to a senior government official, the UNHCR has cited various reasons, ranging from the worsening security situation to lack of shelter in the war-ravaged Afghanistan, for seeking the extension.
The UNHCR has urged the government to review its policy regarding Afghan refugees, he said.
He said the UN agency wanted four to five years extension in the period of stay for the Afghans possessing the Proof of Registration (PoR) cards issued in 2006.
He said the proposal was likely to be discussed by the tripartite commission comprising Pakistan, Afghanistan and the UNHCR.
After granting the extension, he said, the government should renew the PoR cards which would expire by the end of 2009.
However, a spokesman for the UN refugee agency declined to confirm or deny that the proposal had been made and said that the UNHCR was discussing issues and problems related to the refugees.
UNHCRs stance is that Pakistan should understand the ground realities and look beyond 2009 because it is not possible to repatriate 1.8 million refugees in one year, the spokesman said.
He said that under the tripartite commission agreement, voluntary repatriation of the refugees should be sustainable and gradual.
Official sources, meanwhile, said that the government had allowed the National Database Registration Authority (Nadra) to modify the PoR cards from next month and include the children born after 2006. The government issued cards in 2006 to 2.2 million Afghans counted in the 2005 census.
These cards of three-year validity recognise the bearers as Afghan citizens temporarily living in Pakistan.
According to official figures, 83 percent of the Afghans living in Pakistan are Pakhtuns.
The official said that the voluntary repatriation process was considerably slow and most of the refugees were reluctant to return to their homeland.
The main reason, they said, was growing insurgency and lawlessness in their country, particularly in provinces adjacent to Pakistan.
According to UNHCR figures, 33,793 Afghan families (177,327 individuals) returned to Afghanistan under the voluntary repatriation programme since March.
Last year, about 364,000 refugees had returned, but about 1.8 million registered Afghans are still in the country.
The official said that on an average 80 to 90 families were leaving Pakistan daily after receiving the financial assistance of $100 per individual from the UN refugee agency.
He said that repatriation from refugee camps in the NWFP was slower than from urban areas. The reason, they said, was the growing cost of living in urban areas.
PESHAWAR, July 26: The United Nations High Commission for Refugees has called for allowing Afghan refugees to stay in Pakistan for at least four more years.
According to a senior government official, the UNHCR has cited various reasons, ranging from the worsening security situation to lack of shelter in the war-ravaged Afghanistan, for seeking the extension.
The UNHCR has urged the government to review its policy regarding Afghan refugees, he said.
He said the UN agency wanted four to five years extension in the period of stay for the Afghans possessing the Proof of Registration (PoR) cards issued in 2006.
He said the proposal was likely to be discussed by the tripartite commission comprising Pakistan, Afghanistan and the UNHCR.
After granting the extension, he said, the government should renew the PoR cards which would expire by the end of 2009.
However, a spokesman for the UN refugee agency declined to confirm or deny that the proposal had been made and said that the UNHCR was discussing issues and problems related to the refugees.
UNHCRs stance is that Pakistan should understand the ground realities and look beyond 2009 because it is not possible to repatriate 1.8 million refugees in one year, the spokesman said.
He said that under the tripartite commission agreement, voluntary repatriation of the refugees should be sustainable and gradual.
Official sources, meanwhile, said that the government had allowed the National Database Registration Authority (Nadra) to modify the PoR cards from next month and include the children born after 2006. The government issued cards in 2006 to 2.2 million Afghans counted in the 2005 census.
These cards of three-year validity recognise the bearers as Afghan citizens temporarily living in Pakistan.
According to official figures, 83 percent of the Afghans living in Pakistan are Pakhtuns.
The official said that the voluntary repatriation process was considerably slow and most of the refugees were reluctant to return to their homeland.
The main reason, they said, was growing insurgency and lawlessness in their country, particularly in provinces adjacent to Pakistan.
According to UNHCR figures, 33,793 Afghan families (177,327 individuals) returned to Afghanistan under the voluntary repatriation programme since March.
Last year, about 364,000 refugees had returned, but about 1.8 million registered Afghans are still in the country.
The official said that on an average 80 to 90 families were leaving Pakistan daily after receiving the financial assistance of $100 per individual from the UN refugee agency.
He said that repatriation from refugee camps in the NWFP was slower than from urban areas. The reason, they said, was the growing cost of living in urban areas.
