Fearing forced repatriation: Majority of Afghan refugees still unregistered
Workshop urges realistic approach, legislation to deal with issue.
QUETTA:
A majority of the Afghan refugees in Pakistan have kept themselves unregistered due to fears that they will be forcefully repatriated, according to Afghan Refugees Organisation (ARO) Operations Director Major Farzand Ali.
“No one knows the exact figure of unregistered refugees. There is a dire need for legislation to deal with the refugees,” he said, speaking at a workshop held at the Quetta Club on Friday,
The workshop titled ‘Sensitization and Capacity Building Media’ deliberated upon the agreement inked between the Government of Pakistan and the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) allowing some 1.7 million Afghan refugees to continue their stay in the country until the end of 2012.
“A population verification survey under the Management and Repatriation Strategy for Afghan Refugees (MRSAR) was recently conducted in Quetta, Pishin and Qila Abdullah. We have yet to receive any feedback as to what the basic requirements of the Afghan refugees living here are,” Major Ali said. Under MRSAR, those refugees who have invested over Rs5 million in productive businesses will be allowed to continue and may be given work permits for a specific time period.
“The well-off refugees have already obtained National Identity Cards and settled in urban slums. Therefore, hardly anyone will show interest in this investment,” he added.
UNHCR Associate Protection Officer Arbab Mohammad Zahir said the MRSAR was meant to legalise refugees’ stay so they can easily earn their livelihood.
According to Major Ali, there are around 150 unfrequented routes along the border with Afghanistan where keeping a strict check on cross border movement is impossible. He maintained this was the reason that an overwhelming number of repatriated refugees kept returning to Pakistan. For instance, of the over one million refugees repatriated in 2004, a staggering 80% returned due to the deteriorating situation in their country. He stressed that Pakistan needed to adopt a realistic approach in dealing with refugees given the difficulty in repatriating them.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 5th, 2012.
A majority of the Afghan refugees in Pakistan have kept themselves unregistered due to fears that they will be forcefully repatriated, according to Afghan Refugees Organisation (ARO) Operations Director Major Farzand Ali.
“No one knows the exact figure of unregistered refugees. There is a dire need for legislation to deal with the refugees,” he said, speaking at a workshop held at the Quetta Club on Friday,
The workshop titled ‘Sensitization and Capacity Building Media’ deliberated upon the agreement inked between the Government of Pakistan and the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) allowing some 1.7 million Afghan refugees to continue their stay in the country until the end of 2012.
“A population verification survey under the Management and Repatriation Strategy for Afghan Refugees (MRSAR) was recently conducted in Quetta, Pishin and Qila Abdullah. We have yet to receive any feedback as to what the basic requirements of the Afghan refugees living here are,” Major Ali said. Under MRSAR, those refugees who have invested over Rs5 million in productive businesses will be allowed to continue and may be given work permits for a specific time period.
“The well-off refugees have already obtained National Identity Cards and settled in urban slums. Therefore, hardly anyone will show interest in this investment,” he added.
UNHCR Associate Protection Officer Arbab Mohammad Zahir said the MRSAR was meant to legalise refugees’ stay so they can easily earn their livelihood.
According to Major Ali, there are around 150 unfrequented routes along the border with Afghanistan where keeping a strict check on cross border movement is impossible. He maintained this was the reason that an overwhelming number of repatriated refugees kept returning to Pakistan. For instance, of the over one million refugees repatriated in 2004, a staggering 80% returned due to the deteriorating situation in their country. He stressed that Pakistan needed to adopt a realistic approach in dealing with refugees given the difficulty in repatriating them.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 5th, 2012.