Afghan refugees: provincial governments concerned over slow pace of voluntary repatriation
The provincial governments showed concerns over slow voluntary repatriation of Afghan Refugees from Pakistan and suggested the Federal Government that forceful repatriation would also be permitted keeping in view the declining trend in repatriation of Afghan refugees.
The provinces opposed the voluntarily repatriations in a consultative meeting to discuss the voluntary repatriation of Afghan refugees from Pakistan as part of the implementation of the Government of Pakistan Cabinet decision on the Management and Repatriation Strategy for Afghan Refugees in Pakistan for the year 2010-12.
The consultative meeting was attended by senior officials of the Ministry of SAFRON, Ministry of Interior, Home Secretaries of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) and Balochistan, UNHCR, CCAR, provincial commissioners for Afghan Refugees, representatives of the Afghan Ministry of Refugees and Returnees (MORR).
The Joint Secretary SAFRON, Dr Imran Zeb Khan informed the meeting that Federal government had eight months' long consultation meetings with the Chief Ministers and Governors of four provinces before finalising the "voluntarily repatriation strategy". They all agreed upon the existing strategy and committed to enforce the strategy in letter and spirit, he added.
Imran also disclosed that government had constituted a cabinet committee on illegal Afghan refugees to look into the matter and an inter-ministerial meeting of all stakeholders was convened to be met on February 23 on the subject. He said that all efforts should be made to solicit the support of the international community to resource, enhance and encourage voluntary repatriation to Afghanistan and to enable the sustainable reintegration of those returning to Afghanistan while also supporting programmes in refugee hosting communities in Pakistan.
The Afghan Commissioner of Punjab suggested the Federal Government that it must identify those areas in Afghanistan, which have no war and peace restored there. He said that security concerns are biggest hurdle in the repatriation of Afghan Refugees. Saboor Kakar, Commissioner Afghan Refugees in Balochistan said that Federal Government has the strategy, but no policy for the provinces.
He said repatriation indicates the number of Afghan refugees living in Balochistan is same as compare with 2010. He said the number of repatriation increased during the month when provincial administration initiated crack down against the illegal refugees. Waqar Maroof, Commissioner Afghan Refugees in KPK said that the province needed a dissemination campaign for Afghan Refugees to address their concerns. They have certain security, shelter and livelihood concerns in case they returned to Afghanistan, he said.
The participants agreed that the CCAR and CAR in close collaboration with UNHCR officers will undertake a nation-wide information campaign on voluntary repatriation to inform the Afghan refugees about the voluntary repatriation package and assistance.
UNHCR's Representatives to Pakistan, Neill Wright said Pakistan signed an international agreement, which does not allow government to repatriate Afghan living in Pakistan forcefully. The representative of Afghan government is of the view that Pakistan must disclose its repatriation policy towards Afghans after 2012.
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