Just like home: Afghan refugees can open accounts, get driving permits

Islamabad, Kabul official formalise agreement to extend refugees’ stay till 2015.

ISLAMABAD:

Afghan refugees can open bank accounts and obtain driving licences and mobile phone SIM cards in Pakistan now that Islamabad has agreed to extend their stay until the end of 2015.

Both sides formalised the agreement to extend the stay of registered refugees during talks between the Afghan Minister for Refugees, Jamaheer Anwari, and Pakistani officials in Islamabad, the Afghan Embassy Refugee Affairs Attaché, Misri Khan Momand, told The Express Tribune on Saturday.

The decision came a day after the National Assembly was informed that there are 1.62 million registered Afghan refugees in the country – which incidentally matches the figure of unregistered refugees.



Federal Minister for States and Frontier Regions Lt General (Retd) Abdul Qadir Baloch told the house during the question hour on Friday that the registration of unaccounted for refugees is under way.

He said a policy submitted to the cabinet for consideration suggests multiple steps aiming at creating conditions conducive for voluntary repatriation and the creation of livelihood opportunities in Afghanistan to facilitate return and resettlement.

Some of these steps were formalised in the meeting between Afghan and Pakistan diplomats. Refugees will be able to use money-transfer facilities in Pakistan and will now get new Proof of Registration (PoR) Cards,” Momand said, who was a member of the Afghan delegation during the talks.

PoR cards had expired on December 31st last year. These cards, issued by National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA), legalise the temporary stay of Afghan refugees until the time agreed between the two states.



The former Pakistan Peoples Party government had agreed to extend its period for six months until June 30 this year. However, the incumbent government extended the PoR period until 2015 at a trilateral meeting in Kabul last month. New cards will be issued in September.

“We will set up special centres to issue new cards to the refugees in provincial capitals of Pakistan and also in places where Afghans can easily get new cards,” Momand said. Unregistered Afghans will not be issued PoR cards, he added.

Pakistan has also assured Afghan authorities that no refugee will be forced out of the country, the attaché said. “We want all refugees return with dignity but conditions are not suitable right now for the accommodation of such a large number of refugees.”

“The Afghan government is thankful to the Government of Pakistan for these decisions for they will have a positive impact on bilateral relations,” the Afghan diplomat reiterated.

Meanwhile, Federal Minister for States and Frontier Regions Abdul Qadir Baloch will be visiting Geneva on August 20 to discuss the issue of Afghan refugees with the head of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

He said that 3.8 million Afghan refugees have been repatriated to their homeland during the last 11 years.

According to the UN refugee agency, Pakistan still hosts nearly 1.6 registered Afghan refugees, the world’s single largest refugee community.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 18^th, 2013.