Refugees advised not to rush back to Afghanistan

The UN refugee agency UNHCR has urged Afghan refugees not to consider returning home yet, because of poor security inside Afghanistan. "The reason why we don't think refugees should be returning now is because there is too much insecurity and destruction," spokesperson for UNHCR in the Pakistani capital Islamabad, Fatoumata Kaba, told IRIN on Tuesday. She added that if refugees did return now they would become displaced, adding to the 500,000 displaced people across Pakistan. "We don't know when they will be able to return," she said, explaining that refugees who were urbanised would be disappointed at the lack of health care and education facilities in place in Afghanistan. "It will take a lot of effort to improve conditions and we need to have a stable population," she added. Kaba stressed that repatriation was the best solution for any refugee and that there should be good long-term prospects for them. Nearly 200,000 Afghans have crossed into Pakistan since the US-led air strikes began in Afghanistan and a small number are beginning to return following the routing of the Taliban from major cities. Some 1,500 refugees crossed back at Pakistan's southern Chaman border with Afghanistan recently, according to UNHCR. The largest number of returnees to Afghanistan so far has been from Iran, where on average 1,000 were returning to their homeland every day. But she added that many refugees would remain where they were due to harsh weather conditions. "We expect higher numbers of returnees after the winter, as many have very little at the moment and their situation is not conducive enough for them to be able to move around." Concerns about refugees returning were echoed by the international NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW). "It is clear to see that conditions inside Afghanistan are not safe enough to return to," HRW researcher in Islamabad, Peter Bouckaert told IRIN. "Repatriation can only start when security conditions are satisfactory and when humanitarian needs are met, but neither are being met at the moment," he said. Raising concerns over the infrastructure for returnees he said: "The refugee population is severely impoverished and their homes in Afghanistan have been destroyed." He stressed that financial backing should also be in place in order for refugees to be able to go home. "It is clear that a large amount of money needs to be secured in terms of assistance for when they do return," he added. Bouckaert said there was also concern over the families of foreign fighters in Afghanistan. Many have lost contact with husbands, sons and fathers fighting alongside the Taliban. The families, mainly from Arab countries, Pakistan and Chechnya were stuck inside Afghanistan with their fate unknown, he said. "Most of the women are widows, they don't know if their husbands are still alive and we are concerned about them," he added. HRW is urging the Northern Alliance (NA) and the international community to come up with a strategy on whether the families would be able to stay in Afghanistan in a safe place or whether they should return to their home countries.