Pakistan will start countrywide registration of millions of Afghan refugees from mid-October this year and will provide them with refugee identity cards valid for three years, the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said on Monday in the Afghan capital, Kabul.
The refugee registration programme in Pakistan was discussed during the 11th one-day tripartite commission meeting in Kabul by senior officials from the Afghan Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation (MRR), Pakistan’s Ministry of States and Frontier Regions (SAFRON), and UNHCR’s heads of office in both Afghanistan and Pakistan.
“Among several important issues [discussed] was the registration of Afghans in Pakistan; the meeting noted that the exercise will begin in mid-October and conclude by the end of December,” said Nadar Farhad, UNHCR spokesman in Kabul.
The registration of Afghans in Pakistan for the first time aims to provide the precise number of Afghans living in Pakistan. Those registered will receive a Proof of Registration (PoR) card that recognises them as Afghan citizens living in Pakistan, according to UNHCR.
“The Proof of Registration helps us here in Afghanistan to provide returnees with assistance based on the cards which have high-security features such as digital photographs and the individual's fingerprint,” Farhad explained.
The UN refugee agency in Afghanistan estimates that 2.5 million Afghans are still living in Pakistan, with another 900,000 in Iran.
Only Afghans who arrived in Pakistan after 1 December 1979 and who were included in the February-March 2005 census by the Pakistan government would be eligible for registration, according to Sajid Hussain Chattha, Secretary of SAFRON, who was representing Pakistan at the tripartite meeting.
“I am quite sure that all parties are on board and pretty satisfied to proceed with the registration of refugees in Pakistan,” Chattha said. “Afghans who were missing out of the process as a special case will also be attended.”
Farhad said registration of Afghans would be carried out by Pakistan’s National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) in close collaboration with SAFRON.
UNHCR will be assisting the Pakistan government in mobilising resources for the registration, which is expected to cost US $6 million. No fees will be charged for the registration of Afghans in Pakistan.
The government of Pakistan and UNHCR will jointly oversee the process, Farhad said.
Chattah assured that there would not be forceful repatriation of refugees from Pakistan. “For over two decades there has been no forceful repatriation and let me assure you that socially, culturally and from a religious bond we will never do that.”
Meanwhile, the UN refugee agency has said that the voluntary repatriation of refugees from both Pakistan and Iran had seen nearly a 60 percent decrease compared to the same period last year.
Afghan authorities said that returnees were suffering from various problems such as insecurity, unemployment and lack of shelter, which have resulted in a slow repatriation process.
“A major part of refugees still living in Pakistan are those belonging to the provinces located on the borders where security is still a major concern for them,” said Abdul Qader Ahadi, deputy minister of the Afghan Ministry for Refugees.
Since the start of UNHCR’s voluntary return operation in 2002, an estimated 3.7 million Afghan refugees had been helped home from Iran and Pakistan. UNCHR estimated a further million had returned "spontaneously".
The refugee registration programme in Pakistan was discussed during the 11th one-day tripartite commission meeting in Kabul by senior officials from the Afghan Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation (MRR), Pakistan’s Ministry of States and Frontier Regions (SAFRON), and UNHCR’s heads of office in both Afghanistan and Pakistan.
“Among several important issues [discussed] was the registration of Afghans in Pakistan; the meeting noted that the exercise will begin in mid-October and conclude by the end of December,” said Nadar Farhad, UNHCR spokesman in Kabul.
The registration of Afghans in Pakistan for the first time aims to provide the precise number of Afghans living in Pakistan. Those registered will receive a Proof of Registration (PoR) card that recognises them as Afghan citizens living in Pakistan, according to UNHCR.
“The Proof of Registration helps us here in Afghanistan to provide returnees with assistance based on the cards which have high-security features such as digital photographs and the individual's fingerprint,” Farhad explained.
The UN refugee agency in Afghanistan estimates that 2.5 million Afghans are still living in Pakistan, with another 900,000 in Iran.
Only Afghans who arrived in Pakistan after 1 December 1979 and who were included in the February-March 2005 census by the Pakistan government would be eligible for registration, according to Sajid Hussain Chattha, Secretary of SAFRON, who was representing Pakistan at the tripartite meeting.
“I am quite sure that all parties are on board and pretty satisfied to proceed with the registration of refugees in Pakistan,” Chattha said. “Afghans who were missing out of the process as a special case will also be attended.”
Farhad said registration of Afghans would be carried out by Pakistan’s National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) in close collaboration with SAFRON.
UNHCR will be assisting the Pakistan government in mobilising resources for the registration, which is expected to cost US $6 million. No fees will be charged for the registration of Afghans in Pakistan.
The government of Pakistan and UNHCR will jointly oversee the process, Farhad said.
Chattah assured that there would not be forceful repatriation of refugees from Pakistan. “For over two decades there has been no forceful repatriation and let me assure you that socially, culturally and from a religious bond we will never do that.”
Meanwhile, the UN refugee agency has said that the voluntary repatriation of refugees from both Pakistan and Iran had seen nearly a 60 percent decrease compared to the same period last year.
Afghan authorities said that returnees were suffering from various problems such as insecurity, unemployment and lack of shelter, which have resulted in a slow repatriation process.
“A major part of refugees still living in Pakistan are those belonging to the provinces located on the borders where security is still a major concern for them,” said Abdul Qader Ahadi, deputy minister of the Afghan Ministry for Refugees.
Since the start of UNHCR’s voluntary return operation in 2002, an estimated 3.7 million Afghan refugees had been helped home from Iran and Pakistan. UNCHR estimated a further million had returned "spontaneously".
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions
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