The government will prepare a comprehensive database of Afghan refugees across the country to develop policies for their voluntary repatriation from October 15. Official told newsmen here on Saturday that pilot exercise had been started for 10 days in two selected locations: Jhang in Punjab and Chitral in North West Frontier Province on October 1.
Giving information, he said the SAFRON would oversee the registration process to be conducted by the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) aimed at testing the mechanisms for the nation-wide exercise that would follow, however, United Nations Human Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) was providing funds for said project.
Total cost for the exercise was US 5.5995 million dollars, out of which US three million dollars had been disbursed to Nadra, he added. He said this was a big step not just for Pakistan, but also Afghanistan to manage the future of this (Afghan) population.
The registration (database) exercise is a follow-up to the census of Afghans in Pakistan conducted by the Pakistan government in March 2005. As per census, there were 3.048 million Afghans population in Pakistan, presently there were estimated to 2.468 million, he said.
Official said registered Afghans would receive a Proof of Registration (PoR) card that recognised them as Afghan citizens living in Pakistan and would be invalidated when they repatriated. The card will be valid for three years. "Children under five years of age will be listed on the cards of their mother. No fees will be charged for this registration exercise," he added.
Highlighting the features of PoR, he said it would include date of arrival in Pakistan, area of origin, ethnic background, obstacles to return to Afghanistan and profile in Pakistan.
He advised that those eligible must be in the same location where they took the census, as the information to be verified and collected is area-specific. The head of household, who was included in the census, must accompany the whole family to the designated centres, he added.
To facilitate registration, they should bring official documents establishing their identity like Tazkeras, passports, driver's license, student cards, ration cards, birth/marriage certificates and other supporting documents such as utility bills, school/hospital records, he added.
He said the necessary information would be giving to refugees about procedures when they arrived at the registration centre, adding they were requested to cooperate with the registration teams in answering their questions to facilitate others to be registered. Meanwhile, UNHCR has also suspended assistance for voluntary repatriation movements of Afghan refugees from Pakistan to their country due to registration exercise.