Afghan refugees can now open bank accounts, PM Khan announces

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan has issued directives for the opening of bank accounts of the Afghan refugees, who are registered in the country, ARY News reported on Monday.

In his tweet, the PM said: “I have issued instructions today that Afghan refugees who are registered can open bank accounts and from now onwards they can participate in the formal economy of the country.”

“This should have been done a long time ago,” the PM continued in his message.

I have issued instructions today that Afghan refugees who are registered can open bank accounts and from now onwards they can participate in the formal economy of the country . This should have been done a long time ago.

— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) February 25, 2019

In his maiden visit to Karachi on Sunday (September 18, 2018), Prime Minister Imran Khan had announced that Afghans and Bengalis living in the country for many decades would be issued National Identity Cards and passports, which would effectively make them formal citizens of Pakistan.

Pakistan is one of the largest refugee-hosting nations in the world, home to an estimated 2.4 million registered and undocumented people who have fled Afghanistan, some as far back as the Soviet invasion of 1979.