ISLAMABAD: The Senate Standing Committee on States and Frontier Regions was informed that approximately 2.9 million Afghan nationals are living in Pakistan and are categorised as Afghan refugees (Proof of Registration Card holders)- 1.45 million and Afghan Nationals (Afghan Citizen Card holders) - 0.814 million.
The Senate Standing Committee on States and Frontier Regions (SAFRON) met with Senator Jan Muhammad Buledi in the chair at Parliament House on Friday. Senators Syed Masroor Ahsan, Saeed Ahmed Hashmi, and Dost Muhammad Khan, alongside senior officials from the Ministries of SAFRON and its allied departments of Afghan Refugees Commissionerate attended the meeting.
The Committee deliberated upon SAFRON Ministry’s core responsibilities, encompassing Afghan refugee’s governance and repatriation, governance of former princely states. Notable statistics included the allocation of a budget estimate of Rs978.211 million for the fiscal year 2024-25 to the ministry and the current demographic breakdown of Afghan nationals in Pakistan was discussed.
The committee was informed that 74 percent of the existing refugees are under the age of 25 years. The ministry outlined its robust advocacy for sustainable repatriation efforts in collaboration with the government of Afghanistan, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and international partners. Enhanced financial assistance for returnees was highlighted, with UNHCR currently providing $375 per returnee and $700 per returning family.
It was informed that 90 percent of Proof of Registration Card (CoR) holder Afghan refugees have repatriated voluntarily. The international support to the ministry for refugees management have decreased to a great extent and now major funding from UNHCR is through international NGOs.
Senator Dost Mohammad Khan highlighted the social, economic, financial and administrative problems being faced by the merged districts of ex-FATA. With the mergence of these areas, these socio-economic and administrative problems have multiplied and the responsibility lies with the federal government, he said.
It was briefed that a total of 1,220,034 spontaneous return of unregistered Afghan individuals reported by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) as of 31st May 2024 and 4,434,231 registered Afghan refugees as reported by UNHCR.
The committee applauded SAFRON’s contributions to the documentation and repatriation efforts of Afghan refugees and highlighted the ministry has been looking after major issues and any hasty decision of winding up the ministry may create problems in the smooth repatriation of refugees.
The committee recommended that the decision of the winding up the Ministry may be reviewed. The Committee also recommended that the Ministry may be kept in the loop in all the repatriation process as it is the major stakeholder and custodian of bilateral and international covenants and fora on Afghan Refugees.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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