Refugee pre-screening said to be going well

The pre-screening of thousands of Afghan refugees in Pakistan’s North-West Frontier Province is proceeding well, a UNHCR official told IRIN on Tuesday. “Our information campaign has had a definite impact,” Yusuf Hassan, the agency’s spokesman in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, said. “We are seeing an increase in the number of people registering who are well informed and understand the benefit of registering as well,” he added. The first phase of screening, which began on 6 August, follows a landmark agreement between Pakistan and the UN on 2 August, which meant that thousands of Afghans could be given temporary protection by Pakistan. The 20-day pre-screening process is being implemented in the Nasir Bagh camp in the provincial capital, Peshawar, and the nearby makeshift Jalozai refugee camp. It involves some 30 screening teams, assisted by Pashto- and Dari-speaking interpreters, interviewing heads of household, and registering them by gathering basic information, such as names and places of origin. Afghans came forward in increasing numbers to register at the two screening centres jointly established by UNHCR and the government of Pakistan in Jalozai and Nasir Bagh last week, according to Hassan. This initial stage is expected to determine the refugee status of thousands of Afghans, the majority of whom are newly arrived, having fled to Pakistan to escape the twin scourges of drought and conflict. Hassan said that more than 5,000 families were registered in the first week of the exercise - 3,248 in Jalozai and 1,829 in Nasir Bagh. During the same week, 531 families from the two camps opted to go home - 374 from Nasir Bagh and 157 from Jalozai, he added. Asked if he expected the numbers of those wishing to register to rise, Hassan said that with the number of pre-screeners set to be increased on Wednesday, the capacity of the pre-screening process would be enhanced, which he expected would result in a significant growth in the number of people registering. He reiterated that those who wished of their own accord to return to Afghanistan would be given a repatriation assistance package consisting of US $90 and 150 kg of wheat, while those who opted for the screening process would be interviewed in accordance with the 2 August agreement. Those found to be in need of protection would be granted a temporary stay in Pakistan and shifted from Jalozai and Nasir Bagh to a new camp, where they would be provided with assistance by UNHCR and its partners. Afghans whose cases were rejected would have the right to appeal, but but once a final decision was made to reject the appeal, they would have to go home, Hassan added. The second phase of screening, involving more comprehensive interviewing and decision-making on the refugee status of the Afghans, is set to begin in two weeks. There are 58,000 Afghans at Jalozai currently receiving UN assistance, and another 70,000 at Nasir Bagh. With some two million Afghan refugees in Pakistan, Islamabad has long contended it can no longer shoulder the burden, and has called on the UN to facilitate their repatriation. The Pakistani authorities suspended an earlier attempt by UNHCR to screen Afghan refugees in Jalozai.