Minister for States and Frontier Regions (SAFRON), Abdul Qadir Baloch on Tuesday said that the repatriation of Afghan refugees living in Pakistan would be completed by December 23, 2015 as per the agreement between the two countries. Speaking at a press conference here, he said that the federal government is working with Afghanistan government for safe return of Afghan refugees.
He said that the government is fully aware of the demands by political parties and civil society for the safe and swift return of Afghan refugees to their homeland. He noted that there was no reason for apprehension. He said the government has inked UN refugees' conventions. Under these conventions, Pakistan could not push them out overnight. They would be repatriated respectfully and on voluntary basis according to deadline given by Pakistani government.
The minister further emphasised the need for refugees to be registered in light of fragile law and order situation. The refugees living in Pakistan have been allocated proof of residence cards. He further said that United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) was co-operating with Pakistan and Afghanistan and Pakistan is hosting refugees in the best possible manner.
Referring to the burden of refugee in Pakistan, the minister said that the international community has forgotten the refugees' problem in Pakistan. He compared the Afghan refugee situation with the refugee situation in Syria where there were 900,000 refugees last year compared to Pakistan where there were 1.7 million refugees, while Iran had around 1.5 million. The minister maintained that the foreign countries committed $600 million to Pakistan in 2012 to deal with the refugee situation, however, it had not even received $100 million, even though the programme was scheduled to complete by end of 2014.
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