PESHAWAR: Repatriation of ‘Registered Afghan’ refugees scheduled to be resumed today (Monday) after four months of suspension, through two refugee centres established in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa respectively, ARY New reported.
According to United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) each returnee would be granted $400 under personal assistance package for their safe return to Afghanistan.
The United Nation’s agency confirmed 11,000 Afghan refugees have been registered in Khyber Pakthunkhwa alone among 16,000, opting to return to Afghanistan.
The returnees would leave for Afghanistan from two repatriation centres that have been established in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
According to the UNHCR’s statistics, 1.5 million registered Afghan refugees were residing in Pakistan, out of which 3,65,000 have returned to their homeland by end of 2016 before suspension in the repatriation process.
The statistics further revealed that there are around one million undocumented Afghans staying in Pakistan out of which 2,00,000 have returned to their homes.
It is pertinent to mention here that Pakistan is adhered to refoulement law, according to which the government couldn’t force refugees and asylum seekers to return to a country where they are liable to be subjected to persecution.
