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Refugee registration: UNHCR urges Afghans to update cards

Cards protect Afghans from arbitrary detention, entitles for UNHCR cash assistance.

February 15, 2011 1 min read

ISLAMABAD: The UN refugee agency urged all the registered Afghans who have not yet renewed their Proof of Registration (PoR) cards to approach the nearest registration centre in the next two weeks, before the February 28 deadline. The process of replacing old PoR cards with new secure cards started in September last year and concludes on February 28 this year.

The PoR card is an important identity document that proves the temporary legal stay of registered Afghans in Pakistan, and is valid until December 31, 2012. “The cards are meant to protect Afghans from arbitrary detention and deportation during their stay in Pakistan.

It is also required for Afghans who want United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) cash assistance to repatriate to Afghanistan,” said the UNHCR Deputy Representative Khassim Diagne.

Since September, some 1.3 million new PoR cards have been issued by NADRA at 45 centres across the country. This includes 223,820 cards given to children previously registered on their parents’ cards and 85,997 previously unregistered members of registered families.

In addition, some 278,188 newborn babies have also been registered. As part of the same project, almost 600,000 Afghan children under the age of 18 have received their first ever birth certificates.

All registered Afghan citizens residing in Pakistan holding PoR cards issued by NADRA are eligible to receive the new cards.

Afghans must bring their existing PoR cards to the registration centres. If the original card is broken or lost, a photocopy of the PoR card will be acceptable for renewal purpose, to find the data of the applicant exists in the database.

The issuance of the new registration cards to Afghans is part of the Pakistan government’s broader strategy on the Management of Afghans in Pakistan, which was endorsed by the federal cabinet in March last year.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 15^th, 2011.