Refugees leave Nasir Bagh for home

Some 39 Afghan families from the Nasir Bagh refugee camp in Pakistan’s North-West Frontier Province returned to Afghanistan on Thursday, following statements by government officials that the camp faced imminent closure. The group is the first of what could prove to be many more UNHCR-facilitated repatriations from the 20-year-old community, UNHCR spokesman Peter Kessler told IRIN. “The writing was on the wall,” Kessler said. “These people obviously prefer to resettle in their own country rather than inside Pakistan,” he added. According to a UNHCR statement issued that day, the group of 199 Afghans left Nasir Bagh aboard nine trucks loaded with their belongings, including windows, doors, bedding and other personal effects from their nearly 20 years of refuge in the country. UNHCR escorted the convoy through the Khyber Pass to the Towr Kham border crossing, where formalities were completed with the Taliban frontier officials, and the Afghans proceeded to their home areas. UNHCR would monitor their return. Earlier, Pakistani government officials “relented” on a 30 June order to forcibly evict more than 60,000 Afghans living in parts of Nasir Bagh refugee village. The Afghans, who were first informed of the government’s plans to close the camp two years ago, were this week given time to leave the site, where authorities plan to build a housing estate for Pakistani civil servants, the statement said. Asked why the government backed down on the deadline, Kessler said: “It’s unclear why, but the fact is the government wants to see this land cleared.” He added that the provincial authorities had been given assurances by camp representatives and elders that the camp would be vacated, a fact that appears to have satisfied the authorities. The fate of Nasir Bagh, located in the provincial capital, Peshawar, has proven a contentious issue between Pakistani authorities, UNHCR, and the nearly 120,000 residents of the community. The issue of compensation, if any, for thousands who will lose their homes and established livelihoods should they leave, remains to be settled. According to UNHCR, however, the refugee families returning received an “exceptional” assistance package of US $117 to hire transport and to purchase food and other items on arriving in Afghanistan. Most of Thursday’s returnees headed for their villages in the central provinces of Kabul and Parvan, and the eastern provinces of Konar and Nangarhar, parts of which are currently experiencing conflict. Regarding the issue of security for returnees in areas still affected by fighting, Kessler said UNHCR remained concerned, and the agency’s mobile teams “would particularly be monitoring these returnees”. According to Kessler, only 11 of the 199 voluntary returnees actually hailed from Parvan and Konar, where there remained instances of conflict. Queried as to why they would want to return to places still affected by conflict, he said: “This is a difficult call. This was a small group of people that wanted to travel together.” As to when the next group of returnees from Nasir Bagh was set to go, Kessler was unable to give exact details, but predicted as early as Monday. Meanwhile, in response to the government’s stance, UNHCR representative Hasim Utkan said in a statement: “UNHCR appreciates the restraint of Pakistan’s government in regards to the Nasir Bagh settlement closure order.” He maintained, however: “Refugees in need of protection and security should be permitted to remain in Pakistan, but we must also respect the wishes of Afghans like these, who would rather go home than move again.” Last year more than 76,800 Afghan refugees voluntarily returned home from Pakistan, and 134,000 returned from Iran in UNHCR-facilitated and -monitored repatriation convoys. Each of the two countries host two million Afghan refugees.