![[Pakistan] Afghans in Islamabad waiting to register to obtain new identity cards. [Date picture taken: 10/15/2006]](https://assets.thenewhumanitarian.org/s3fs-public/styles/responsive_large_2x/public/images/20061017.jpg.webp?itok=fSmRbRCe "Réfugiés afghans à Islamabad attendant de se faire recenser")
A programme to register Afghans living in Pakistan has been proceeding slowly due partly to confusion over the objectives of the exercise, United Nations officials acknowledged on Friday.
The 10-week campaign, costing some US $6 million, is aimed at providing millions of Afghan exiles in Pakistan with identity cards valid for three years. The cards recognise the bearer as an Afghan citizen temporarily living in Pakistan.
“The main obstacle to registration seems to be [Afghan] people’s fear that the exercise is the [Pakistan] government’s way of rounding them up and sending them home,” Vivian Tan, a spokeswoman for the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), said in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad.
“On our part, we are trying to convince them [Afghans in Pakistan] that this is really a protection tool for Afghan nationals that will help them to stay for three years while keeping an eye on the situation in Afghanistan,” she added.
Nearly 91,000 Afghan refugees have registered so far across Pakistan since the operation started on 15 October, including about 37,000 in North West Frontier Province (NWFP), 20,000 in Balochistan, 17,000 in Punjab, 14,000 in Sindh province and some 2,000 in Pakistani-administered Kashmir.
The registration drive is a follow-up to a comprehensive Afghan census conducted in Pakistan in February and March 2005, which found more than three million Afghans were still living in the country.
More than 580,000 Afghans have returned home with UNHCR assistance since the census, leaving an estimated 2.4 million Afghans still living in Pakistan today, according to UNHCR.
“What are the benefits of this registration for us [Afghans]? Besides giving us legal status, how is it going to help in our daily lives like in getting admission to Pakistani educational institutions, open bank accounts or get services,” Latifa Aziz, an Afghan woman who runs a private school in the Pakistani capital, said.
UNHCR has been trying to clarify the purpose of the registration. “In itself, the Proof of Registration (PoR) card is not a work permit or travel document. It is for identity purposes only, recognising the bearer as an Afghan citizen temporarily living in Pakistan. It’s a protection tool against harassment, but will not confer any additional rights or status,” Tan noted.
The Pakistani government was contacted to comment on the registration drive but had not responded by late Friday.
Many Afghans working as labourers or running small businesses fear they will be expelled from the country once registered with the Pakistani authorities.
“Police will deport us. If we go through this registration process they will have our pictures as well,” said Muhammad Saeed Wali, an Afghan carpenter in Islamabad.
Pakistani officials, in a tripartite meeting in Doha held in May, proposed a rolling three-year plan to close all Afghan refugee camps in the country.
Even those who do not think they will be immediately sent back to Afghanistan are concerned about the future. “Afghans are wondering what would happen to them after three years, since these cards are non-extendable,” Rajab Ali Ahmadyar, an Afghan community leader in Islamabad told IRIN.
The registration process will capture a detailed profile of Afghans living in Pakistan including their area of origin, ethnic background, and obstacles they face in returning to Afghanistan.
The data collected during the registration will also help the Afghan government plan regional development in potential areas of return. It will also help Kabul make the best use of returnees with skills, by identifying key workers such as teachers and doctors, the UNHCR official said.
Pakistan’s National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) is conducting the exercise using fingerprints and photos to record information through around 100 fixed registration centres supported by mobile units, across the country.
The UN refugee agency and the government’s Commissioner for Afghan Refugees (CAR) are monitoring the process.
ts/sc/ds
The 10-week campaign, costing some US $6 million, is aimed at providing millions of Afghan exiles in Pakistan with identity cards valid for three years. The cards recognise the bearer as an Afghan citizen temporarily living in Pakistan.
“The main obstacle to registration seems to be [Afghan] people’s fear that the exercise is the [Pakistan] government’s way of rounding them up and sending them home,” Vivian Tan, a spokeswoman for the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), said in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad.
“On our part, we are trying to convince them [Afghans in Pakistan] that this is really a protection tool for Afghan nationals that will help them to stay for three years while keeping an eye on the situation in Afghanistan,” she added.
Nearly 91,000 Afghan refugees have registered so far across Pakistan since the operation started on 15 October, including about 37,000 in North West Frontier Province (NWFP), 20,000 in Balochistan, 17,000 in Punjab, 14,000 in Sindh province and some 2,000 in Pakistani-administered Kashmir.
The registration drive is a follow-up to a comprehensive Afghan census conducted in Pakistan in February and March 2005, which found more than three million Afghans were still living in the country.
More than 580,000 Afghans have returned home with UNHCR assistance since the census, leaving an estimated 2.4 million Afghans still living in Pakistan today, according to UNHCR.
“What are the benefits of this registration for us [Afghans]? Besides giving us legal status, how is it going to help in our daily lives like in getting admission to Pakistani educational institutions, open bank accounts or get services,” Latifa Aziz, an Afghan woman who runs a private school in the Pakistani capital, said.
UNHCR has been trying to clarify the purpose of the registration. “In itself, the Proof of Registration (PoR) card is not a work permit or travel document. It is for identity purposes only, recognising the bearer as an Afghan citizen temporarily living in Pakistan. It’s a protection tool against harassment, but will not confer any additional rights or status,” Tan noted.
The Pakistani government was contacted to comment on the registration drive but had not responded by late Friday.
Many Afghans working as labourers or running small businesses fear they will be expelled from the country once registered with the Pakistani authorities.
“Police will deport us. If we go through this registration process they will have our pictures as well,” said Muhammad Saeed Wali, an Afghan carpenter in Islamabad.
Pakistani officials, in a tripartite meeting in Doha held in May, proposed a rolling three-year plan to close all Afghan refugee camps in the country.
Even those who do not think they will be immediately sent back to Afghanistan are concerned about the future. “Afghans are wondering what would happen to them after three years, since these cards are non-extendable,” Rajab Ali Ahmadyar, an Afghan community leader in Islamabad told IRIN.
The registration process will capture a detailed profile of Afghans living in Pakistan including their area of origin, ethnic background, and obstacles they face in returning to Afghanistan.
The data collected during the registration will also help the Afghan government plan regional development in potential areas of return. It will also help Kabul make the best use of returnees with skills, by identifying key workers such as teachers and doctors, the UNHCR official said.
Pakistan’s National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) is conducting the exercise using fingerprints and photos to record information through around 100 fixed registration centres supported by mobile units, across the country.
The UN refugee agency and the government’s Commissioner for Afghan Refugees (CAR) are monitoring the process.
ts/sc/ds
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
Share this article
