The federal cabinet approved on Wednesday a one-year extension of the Proof Of Registration (POR) cards for 1.45 million Afghan refugees legally residing in Pakistan and whose POR cards expired last month, state-run Radio Pakistan reported.

The extension in the POR cards has been granted till June 30, 2025.

The development comes a day after the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNGCR) Filippo Grandi met Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif at the Prime Minister’s House.

“The prime minister appreciated the UN agency’s support to Pakistan in hosting of Afghan refugees for over four decades,” a post from the Government of Pakistan on X stated after the meeting on Tuesday.

“The prime minister noted that despite numerous challenges, Pakistan had hosted Afghan refugees with exemplary respect and dignity. He also underscored that the international community needed to be mindful of the socio-economic challenges and security threats being faced by Pakistan in this regard.

“The UN high commissioner assured that UNHCR would continue to work closely with Pakistan to fulfill the basic needs of the Afghan refugees,” it added.

Repatriation of illegal Afghan refugees began last year, after the then caretaker government directed all illegal immigrants to leave the country by November 1, 2023.

The decision was taken to improve the law and order situation in the country.