Pakistan’s Commissionerate for Afghan Refugees, in collaboration with the UNHCR, launched a drive on Thursday to verify the data of the 1.4 million registered Afghan refugees in the country. Consequently, it will be issuing smart identity cards containing biometric data to refugees with Proof of Registration, which will remain valid for two years and allow the holders to access several services in the country.
The news comes as a welcome step given that the last such exercise had taken place a decade ago. With the country hosting the second largest refugee population in the world – of roughly three million, documented and undocumented — its needs cannot be ignored, especially with the continuously changing political and socio-economic conditions. With the Afghan peace under process, there are increasing chances that the refugees will be repatriated to Afghanistan once the situation there stabilises. Until then, the data verification and smart cards will help the government in Pakistan keep track of the demographics, healthcare, education and skill levels of the refugee population, and address them accordingly by providing jobs and schooling. Moreover, it will also strengthen border security between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
However, it must be noted that a large chunk of the refugee population remains undocumented. And while the spokesman for the Commissionerate says that a policy for unregistered refugees will be introduced soon, one cannot be too hopeful. Back in 2018, PM Imran Khan had pledged Pakistani citizenship for Afghan refugees, 60% of whom had been born in this country. While no progress has taken place on the issue and registered refugees were allowed to hold bank accounts only in 2019, most Afghan refugees continue to call Pakistan their home with little desire to move to Afghanistan. It is important that this verification is used to formulate important policies on education, property purchase and business ownership as Afghan refugees contribute greatly to the formal and informal economy. It is also hoped that biometric verification will allow the government to roll out the Covid vaccination programme effectively amongst the refugee population, and not ignore the group altogether.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 19th, 2021.
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