Afghan refugees: Gearing up for resuming voluntary repatriation

Multidimensional strategy established for management and repatriation of Afghan refugees in Pakistan.

ISLAMABAD: The government and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has started gearing up for the resumption of voluntary repatriation of Afghan refugees.

In a meeting held on Thursday between representatives of the ministry of states and frontier regions and UNHCR, the formation of sub-committees was announced as part of the government’s strategy. A multidimensional strategy has been established for the management and repatriation of Afghan refugees in Pakistan, which houses approximately 1.6 million of them.

The strategy includes extending the validity of Proof of Registration (PoR) cards for Afghans until the end of 2012 and also extends the Tripartite Commission Agreement for another three years, to maintain the voluntary nature of the ongoing repatriation in line with the security situation and capacity of Afghanistan to absorb returning refugees.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 21^st,  2011.