Repatriation of Afghan refugees resumes

Pakistan resumed the repatriation of Afghan refugees on Monday, sending nearly 1,200 people back across the heavily guarded Torkham border, an official at the United Nation's refugee body said.

Pakistan is home to the world's second largest refugee population, with a total of 2.5 million Afghans living there. Many have been in the country since the Soviet invasion in 1979.

Relations between the two countries have deteriorated significantly in recent years. Kabul and Islamabad blame each other for terrorist attacks on either side of the border.



After a series of attacks, which left more than 130 people dead in February, Islamabad shut down its border crossings with Afghanistan and began planning to build a fence along the 2,500km border.

Human Rights Watch estimates another 200,000 undocumented refugees were shipped back to Afghanistan, where conflict and economic crisis have left the government struggling to maintain basic living standards.