Pakistan

Pakistan firm on sending Afghan refugees back

UNHCR, Kabul, Islamabad to decide timeline for return

Riazul Haq/maryam Usman July 19, 2016

A file photo of Afghan refugees in Pakistan. PHOTO: REUTERS

ISLAMABAD: As officials from Pakistan, Afghanistan and the United Nations sit down in Murree today, Islamabad is hoping to convince them on repatriating nearly 3 million registered and unregistered Afghan refugees by the end of the year.

A meeting of Afghan elders in the country has also been summoned in Islamabad on July 20 to discuss repatriation plans.

Federal Minister for States and Frontier Regions (Safron) Lt Gen (retd) Abdul Qadir Baloch told The Express Tribune that the three-day tripartite meeting will discuss a comprehensive plan for the voluntary repatriation of refugees thrashing out details and a possible timeline for the return of the refugees.

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He warned that any refugee who overstays in the country beyond the December 31 deadline could be treated as an illegal.

The 27th tripartite meeting, scheduled to be held in Bhurban and Islamabad from July 19-21 will see officials from Islamabad and the UNHCR participate.

Afghanistan will be represented by a high-powered delegation and is expected to be led by the Afghan Minister of Refugees and Repatriations Sayed Hussain Alimi Balkhi.

Interestingly, Islamabad has invited a number of Afghan elders from both sides of the border to take part in these deliberations. As many as 15 elders living in refugee camps in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, in addition to 15 elders from Islamabad and Balochistan will be convening in Islamabad on July 20.

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Officials in the ministry said that Pakistan will present a clear plan of action about its position and future strategy for these refugees during the conference.

“We are less likely to backtrack from the deadline set for this year,” said a senior official involved in the arrangements of the meeting.

He further clarified that the government has no plans to even discuss an extension in the repatriation deadline.

Another official of the Safron ministry who is already in Murree said that the only option left for refugees is to return voluntarily to their country before the deadline expires.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 19^th, 2016.