The National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) have signed a contract for the registration of Afghan nationals in Pakistan to be conducted later this year. This contract follows the Memorandum of Understanding signed by the government of Pakistan and UNHCR in April 2006.
The registration is a follow-up to the census of the Afghans that was carried out in February-March 2005 by Pakistan's Population Census Organisation (PCO) with the close co-ordination of the Ministry of States and Frontier Regions (Safron), Chief Commissioner of Afghan Refugees (CCAR) and UNHCR.
Only Afghans included in the 2005 census will be eligible for registration.
For the registration project, the Ministry of Safron will work closely with the Ministry of Interior, UNHCR and Nadra through CCAR. All the four Provincial Commissioner of Afghan Refugees will be directly involved to supervise smooth implementation of the exercise in their respective areas.
Nadra will conduct the exercise through its nation-wide registration infrastructure of more than 68 registration centres. Registration in camps will be carried out separately and 13 new registration centres will be set up. Nadra will also issue "Proof of Registration" cards for all Afghans above 5 years of age. Children under 5 years of age will be included on the cards of their parents.
The pilot project is expected to take place in October 2006, followed by the full-scale registration of Afghans in Pakistan starting in November 2006. UNHCR is facilitating fundraising for the government registration exercise, which will cost dollar six million.