Once peace was restored in Afghanistan, these immigrants started to go back home, but the process remains extremely slow paced.
However, the process has picked up speed now and nearly 37,000 immigrants have returned home this year.
The immigrants going back home are also being provided financial support by UNHCR. The Afghan refugees are spread across different parts of Pakistan.
While a vast majority is concentrated in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and the adjoining Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), a significant number is also living in Sindh, Punjab and parts of Balochistan.
The refugees are extremely grateful to the Pakistani population for hosting them for over 30 years.
Abdul Ahad, a refugee based in Peshawar states that he has always felt at home here. “Only God can compensate the Pakistani people for their kindness, as I am at a loss of words,” he said.
The deadline set by the government for these refugees to go back home is December 31, 2012.
The current year has already seen a 34% increase in the number of Afghan refugees returning home voluntarily compared to 2011.
According to Afsar Ali, a reporting officer at the Afghan Commissionerate, things have picked up speed because their policy expires in 2012.
This is also the first time that the refugees are being sent back in groups.
The families returning to Afghanistan are being provided a small plot of land and construction material to set up their homes.
Such incentives also play an important role in encouraging more refugees to go back home.
Earlier in the year, the UNHCR also announced in a workshop in Quetta that registered refugees would be issued visas under different categories after 2012 so that they can live in Pakistan legally.
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I am a pakistani pashtun and i say good job. intially it was fine to bring our ''brother''s over (3 million of them) they ruined a beautiful city like peshawar. and that too was fine, because they were our brothers. but they are an ungrateful people, they speak against us across the world (using our passports ofcourse). the least they could do after all the rubbish we have had to take because of them, is just to say nothing. and they can't even do that. shame.
For all those countries condemning Pakistan all the time,just remember what Pakistan has done for the Afghans.
This is not easy, Pakistan itself is a country struggling yet they welcomed the Afghans and that too in millions
good riddance. please send them back and fence the border. enough of these people who are protected by those proclaiming 'brotherhood'. we have seen islamic brotherhood from saudia who consider us to be inferior muslims and the afghans launching attacks on our army. return back and dont return.
This is good news but most of the people that are migrating back appear to be peaceful people. Wish they can force out the terrorists from that country as we have enough of those as is. well at least work is being done about this process and hopefully we can have a tight border and no one can just sneak in and cause trouble in our country.
I hate that our govt has set deadline, our Afgan brothers should be able to live with us as long as they wish! Quite disapointed with the govt decsion.