As many as 217,277 registered Afghan refugees have returned home since the United Nation High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) started this year's voluntary repatriation programme. The voluntary repatriation programme of registered Afghans, having Proof of Registration (PoR) cards started on April 19, Official said on Monday.
Giving brief, he said that around 174,914 registered Afghans had been repatriated from the NWFP, while, 34,182 from Balochistan, 52,88 from Punjab, 2,893 from Sindh. Official said a total of 2.153 million Afghans were registered in the government-led exercise.
He said that all the registered Afghans above the age of five received PoR cards recognising them as Afghan citizens temporarily living in Pakistan, he added. These cards are valid for three years, until December 2009.
Registered Afghans, returning to Afghanistan with the UNHCR assistance will get an average of 100 dollars per individual as a transport and re-integration grant to help them settle in Afghanistan.
The PoR cards will be de-registered at the VRCs by the Pakistan's National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) before their departure for Afghanistan, he added. The voluntary repatriation of registered Afghans will continue until November.
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