Pakistan wants early repatriation of Afghan refugees
Pakistan's next ambassador to UN says Afghan refugees living in Pakistan should return home with 'dignity and...
NEW YORK/ISLAMABAD:
Minister for States and Frontier Regions (Safron) Engineer Shaukatullah Khan has stressed for a joint initiative for a mass awareness campaign in Afghanistan and Pakistan to accelerate the pace of voluntary repatriation of Afghan refugees.
“All the past efforts to repatriate them voluntarily and with dignity could not bring the desired results,” he said while chairing an Inter-Ministerial Meeting on Afghan Refugees Repatriation Strategy on Thursday. He emphasised on the need to make timely efforts to increase the voluntary repatriation of Afghan refugees from Pakistan.
He stated that the conditions are quite suitable to repatriate Afghan refugees with dignity and honour and their reintegration in their homeland is possible.
The government has devised a Contingency Plan accordingly which has been shared with all stakeholders for the safe return of all refugees back to Afghanistan by 2013, he said while adding that Pakistan has been hosting millions of refugees for over three decades.
Federal Secretary Safron Habibullah Khan Khattak, representatives of Law and Interior Ministries from all provinces, Commissioners of Afghan Refugees from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan and Islamabad and other high officials from Safron also attended the meeting.
Engineer Khan informed that since 2002, over 5.7 million Afghan refugees voluntarily returned back to their homeland, showing that the situation in Afghanistan is safer and can absorb the returning nationals economically, socially and politically.
'Time for Afghan refugees to return home'
While saying that Pakistan never “gloated” about hosting Afghan refugees or claimed that they were a burden, Pakistan’s next ambassador to the UN mission in New York, Masood Khan, said that it was time for them to “return home”.
In a press briefing, Khan said that the Afghan refugees living in Pakistan should return home with “dignity and honour” and urged for the international community’s help in the matter. He added that Pakistan had limited resources and asked for Afghanistan’s cooperation in repatriating Afghan families.
He added that Pakistan had provided a shelter for Afghan refugees during the war.
Responding to a question regarding the cancellation of the bilateral meeting between President Asif Ali Zardari and Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai, Khan said that the meeting was postponed as both leaders had commitments, adding that they were trying to reschedule the meeting.
Earlier on Wednesday, a press representative of the Pakistan mission to the UN had told reporters that both leaders would hold a bilateral meeting on Wednesday evening.
Khan also said that while the United Kingdom had played the part of a facilitator, Afghanistan’s and Pakistan’s leaders had direct contacts. He said that Afghan High Peace Council Head Salahuddin Rabbani would visit Pakistan before Eid.
The foreign office representative also said that the two countries would work on a strategic agreement by the next year and that the foreign ministers of both the countries would also meet soon on the matter. However, he declined to announce a definite timeframe for the meeting.
He further said that there was a need for intelligence sharing between both countries.
Minister for States and Frontier Regions (Safron) Engineer Shaukatullah Khan has stressed for a joint initiative for a mass awareness campaign in Afghanistan and Pakistan to accelerate the pace of voluntary repatriation of Afghan refugees.
“All the past efforts to repatriate them voluntarily and with dignity could not bring the desired results,” he said while chairing an Inter-Ministerial Meeting on Afghan Refugees Repatriation Strategy on Thursday. He emphasised on the need to make timely efforts to increase the voluntary repatriation of Afghan refugees from Pakistan.
He stated that the conditions are quite suitable to repatriate Afghan refugees with dignity and honour and their reintegration in their homeland is possible.
The government has devised a Contingency Plan accordingly which has been shared with all stakeholders for the safe return of all refugees back to Afghanistan by 2013, he said while adding that Pakistan has been hosting millions of refugees for over three decades.
Federal Secretary Safron Habibullah Khan Khattak, representatives of Law and Interior Ministries from all provinces, Commissioners of Afghan Refugees from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan and Islamabad and other high officials from Safron also attended the meeting.
Engineer Khan informed that since 2002, over 5.7 million Afghan refugees voluntarily returned back to their homeland, showing that the situation in Afghanistan is safer and can absorb the returning nationals economically, socially and politically.
'Time for Afghan refugees to return home'
While saying that Pakistan never “gloated” about hosting Afghan refugees or claimed that they were a burden, Pakistan’s next ambassador to the UN mission in New York, Masood Khan, said that it was time for them to “return home”.
In a press briefing, Khan said that the Afghan refugees living in Pakistan should return home with “dignity and honour” and urged for the international community’s help in the matter. He added that Pakistan had limited resources and asked for Afghanistan’s cooperation in repatriating Afghan families.
He added that Pakistan had provided a shelter for Afghan refugees during the war.
Responding to a question regarding the cancellation of the bilateral meeting between President Asif Ali Zardari and Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai, Khan said that the meeting was postponed as both leaders had commitments, adding that they were trying to reschedule the meeting.
Earlier on Wednesday, a press representative of the Pakistan mission to the UN had told reporters that both leaders would hold a bilateral meeting on Wednesday evening.
Khan also said that while the United Kingdom had played the part of a facilitator, Afghanistan’s and Pakistan’s leaders had direct contacts. He said that Afghan High Peace Council Head Salahuddin Rabbani would visit Pakistan before Eid.
The foreign office representative also said that the two countries would work on a strategic agreement by the next year and that the foreign ministers of both the countries would also meet soon on the matter. However, he declined to announce a definite timeframe for the meeting.
He further said that there was a need for intelligence sharing between both countries.