Daily Times

Pakistan has witnessed a sharp decline in the voluntary repatriation of registered Afghan refugees to their home country Afghanistan. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), only 1000 people have been returned to Afghanistan, following 1,597 individuals last year

The UN agency usually suspends voluntary repatriation process in October every year due to the extreme weather in the refugees’ home country and restarts the programme in March. This year decrease in the number of refugees returning to their country, the date has been extended to till December, 2020

Abdur Rahem Stankzai is an afghan national living as refuges life in Peshawar, a provincial capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He is among one of the family, who has plans to return to Afghanistan this year, could not exclude their plan due to uncertain situation in war thorn Afghanistan.

He shares that his family intended to go back to Afghanistan and started his life again but has been unable to do so due to extreme cold and the intense wave of Corona virus across Afghanistan. He was unaware of the UNHCR announcement regarding date of extension to December expressed that extension in date is good move but people in Afghanistan move to other places in December as the country observing extreme weather each year, Stankzai added.

He throws light over the issued faced by the registered afghan refugees in Pakistan said that the future of the registered refugees is uncertain because of expiry of the Proof of Registration (PoR) cards. He shows his card of expiry said that the registered refugees in Pakistan also going through uncertain situation as the expiry of (PoR) in June and the government of Pakistan had yet to make any decision about renewal of PoR cards to validate stay of the refugees, Stankzai expressed.

He further shares his plan for going to their home country said their family is waiting for weather, and once the country raid of this corona pandemic and extreme winters, then they would be able to go back and started life again in Afghanistan, Stanakzai concluded.

The UNHCR has facilitated voluntary return of 4.4 million Afghans from Pakistan since 2002 while the Afghan Refugee agency facilitates repatriation process is functional twice a week (Monday and Tuesday) due to the ongoing pandemic across the world

However, the facilitation centers are established in Azakhel in Nowshera and Baleli in Quetta provide guidance and help to the returning refugees regarding all procedures

Talking to the media, the refugee agency spokesperson, Qaiser Khan Afridi, told that 1,000 Afghans which is around 245 families had returned to their country since March under the voluntary repatriation programme.

He throws light over the issue said that the main reason for decline in return of refugees is the pandemic and it’s for the first time the lowest number of Afghan refugees returned to their country since the beginning of voluntary repatriation from Pakistan, Afridi Added.
Furthermore, the spokesperson to the UNHCR claim that we have decided to continue the repatriation process till December but despite payment of cash assistance of $200 per person for meeting their immediate humanitarian needs, refugees did not want to go back to their country.

Moreover, he further explains the gate way to their homes said that the afghan refugees returned to their country via Torkham and Chaman border crossing points in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Baluchistan, respectively, Afridi concluded.

The first major wave of Afghan refugees enters Pakistan following the Soviet invasion while at least one million Afghans are estimated to have reached Pakistan by 1979, with a total of 3.3 million having fled to Pakistan and Iran by 1980

In Pakistan, Afghan refugees are living in 52 refugee camps all across Pakistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has been providing shelter to the largest population of Afghan nationals, including registered refugees, followed by Balochistan

In past, the relations between Islamabad and Kabul have long suffered from mutual mistrust and suspicions while accuses each other for sheltering militants involved in subversive acts on their respective territories.

In recent days, there are number of the afghan heigh officials visited Pakistan and appreciated Pakistan’s efforts with regards to the Afghan peace process, border management, relax visa policy and trade. However, on the other side the government of Pakistan has also committed to ensure more facilities to Afghan nationals in Pakistan