Accelerate Afghan refugee repatriation, urges Afridi

SAFRON minister calls for increasing grant given to refugees returning to Afghanistan

With the year marking 40 years since the beginning of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan which prompted millions to stream into Pakistan seeking refuge, a minister for state on Thursday urged the world community to help the UNHCR and other stakeholders to help expedite the sluggish pace of voluntary repatriation of Afghan refugees from the country.

Minister for States and Frontier Regions (Safron) Shehryar Khan Afridi made the call on Thursday while talking to a delegation of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) led by UNHCR-Pakistan Country Representative Ruvendrini Menikdiwela.

During the meeting, Afridi appreciated the role of UNHCR and other donors towards Afghan refugees and humanitarian matters.

He added that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-led government was currently implementing a comprehensive policy on voluntary repatriation and management of Afghan nationals which had been approved by the federal cabinet in September 2018.

“Pakistan considers voluntary repatriation as the most preferred, viable solution for Afghan Refugees and is adhering to the principles of voluntarism and gradualism,” he said, before adding, “We need to push this process hard.”

“Pakistan over the past 40 years has hosted the Afghan refugees and this hospitality is unprecedented in human history,” the state minister contended.

Expressing concerns over the slow pace of repatriation, he said that only 1,528 registered refugees have voluntarily returned to Afghanistan during 2018 and that the same sluggish trend was being noticed during this year with only 877 refugees returning since March.

In this regard, Afridi suggested that the UNHCR approach donors to enhance the repatriation grant given to refugees.

“In 2016, along with other reasons, the increase of repatriation grant from $200 to $400 was a major factor of mass repatriation as over 381,000 registered refugees returned to their country. The positive impact of this increased cash amount has been acknowledged by all including the beneficiaries,” he noted.

Afridi detailed that the validity of Proof of Registration (PoR) cards for Afghan Refugees and the tripartite agreement are going to expire on June 30. He added that the Safron ministry, in consultation with all stakeholders, will submit a summary to the federal cabinet to further extend the agreement.

However, he said that concrete and robust action to enhance the repatriation was required during the current year.

Moreover, he said that all operational modalities have been finalised between Safron, the State Bank of Pakistan and the National Database and Regulatory Authority (NADRA) for opening bank accounts for registered Afghan refugees.

In this regard, he said that SBP has circulated guidelines and banks are working on a mechanism to evolve them throughout the country.

Afridi further said that most of the Afghan refugees were second or third generation Afghans who had been born in Pakistan. This youth bulge, he noted, requires urgent investment to empower them through education, skills training and livelihood support inside Afghanistan, rather than being exploited by unfriendly elements.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 17^th, 2019.