Cabinet approves 1-year extension in stay of registered Afghan refugees

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Cabinet on Wednesday approved a one-year extension in the stay of registered Afghan refugees, legally residing in Pakistan, ARY News reported.

According to a statement issued today, “The federal cabinet approved one-year extension of the validity of PoR (Proof of Registration) cards of 1.45 million Afghan refugees. Their PoR cards have been expired on June 30, 2024. The extension has been granted until June 30, 2025.”

Proof of Registration (PoR) is a critical identity document held by registered Afghan refugees. Besides registered, the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) said more than 800,000 have Afghan citizenship cards.

Last year in October, the caretaker government announced the repatriation of Afghan refugees staying illegally in the country, citing security concerns.

Repatriation of undocumented Afghans began on November 1 and so far, according to Interior Ministry statistics, over 500,000 Afghan refugees have returned to their homeland.

Pakistan faced criticism from several countries including US, UK, Afghanistan and others, but it rejected all the statements and said only Afghans living illegally in Pakistan were being deported to control increasing crimes.

The move by the federal cabinet came a day after UN refugee agency chief Filippo Grandi’s meeting with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Islamabad.

Grandi expressed appreciation that the “Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan” has been suspended and sought assurances that it would remain on hold, said a statement from the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR).

READ: Pakistan asks Afghan govt to ensure end of cross-border attacks on its soil

Grandi, wrapping up a three-day visit to Pakistan on Tuesday, called for Islamabad’s “proud tradition” of hospitality towards those Afghans with continued international protection needs.

During his discussions, the statement added, Grandi called for the “timely” extension of Proof of Registration cards, a critical identity document held by over 1.3 million Afghan refugees.

Praising the challenges facing the country and the admirable generosity of Pakistan’s government over 45 years of hosting Afghan refugees, Grandi called for an urgent reset of the aid model towards solutions and responsibility sharing, including fostering new partnerships and developing innovative approaches to addressing the protracted displacement situation.

PWD closure

Meanwhile, the federal cabinet also approved the action plan for the abolition of Pakistan Public Works Department (Pak PWD) and decided the formation of a Pakistan Infrastructure Development Company to oversee federal development projects and Asset And Facility Management Company for repair and maintenance works.

The cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, also decided to hand over the federal government projects in the provinces to the relevant provincial departments.

Similarly, the Asset and Facility Management Company would be established to carry out the repair and maintenance work currently being done by the Pak PWD. After their classification, the PWD employees would be transferred to relevant ministries and a golden handshake scheme would also be introduced for them.

Moreover, the cabinet also decided to computerise the record of all PWD properties and called for completing the transition process within two weeks.

The federal cabinet was also briefed about the performance of the committee formed to reduce the government’s volume. It was told that the committee would complete the information gathering about the unnecessary departments of the ministries of IT, Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit Baltistan, States and Frontier Regions, Industries and Production, and National Health Services by July 12 and present proposals before the cabinet by first week of August, after consultation with the relevant ministries.

Moreover, it was told that after July 19, similar information would also be sought from other ministries and recommendations would be tabled regarding the closure or merger of their departments.