The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office has announced temporary closure of its Afghan voluntary repatriation operation from Pakistan for a winter break from December 20 till the end of February 2006.
"All repatriation registration and departure centres of the UN refugee agency will remain closed during the winter months beyond December 20. However, the encashment centres inside Afghanistan will remain operational for another week up till December 27," an UNHCR spokeswoman, Vivian Tan was quoted as saying in Islamabad by IRIN, the UN information unit.
Following the collapse of the Taleban regime in Afghanistan, the UN refugee agency launched its voluntary repatriation assistance programme in 2002 from Pakistan and Iran - the two primary host countries of the Afghan diaspora.
The UNHCR's repatriation assistance programme from Pakistan is governed by a tripartite agreement between Kabul, Islamabad and the UN refugee agency, and runs until December 2006.
As of November 30, about 440,000 Afghan refugees have returned to Afghanistan this year from Pakistan under the UNHCR repatriation assistance programme that resumed on March 7 after the winter break.
Under the programme, Afghan returnees are eligible for transport assistance ranging from US four dollars to 37 dollars per person, depending on the distance to their destination. Additionally, they also receive a small monetary grant to help them with additional costs.