The UN Refugee Agency's voluntary repatriation programme for registered Afghan refugees resumed on Friday after the winter break. The voluntary repatriation operation had been suspended for the winter period from December 01, 2018 until February 28, 2019, said in a statement released by the UNHCR here on Friday.
UNHCR will facilitate refugees from the voluntary repatriation centers at Azakhel, Nowshera in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Baleli, Quetta in Baluchistan, it added. Pakistan continues to host 1.4 million registered Afghan refugees who are holding Proof of Registration (PoR) cards. Around 4.4 million Afghan refugees have returned to Afghanistan under the UNHCR-facilitated voluntary repatriation programme since 2002.
The Proof of Registration card allows Afghan refugees the right to temporary legal stay in Pakistan. "While voluntary repatriation is a preferred solution for the majority of Afghan refugees, it needs to be well-informed, voluntary, safe and dignified," said Ruvendrini Menikdiwela, UNHCR Representative in Pakistan. Menikdiwela said UNHCR acknowledges and appreciates the people and Government of Pakistan for hosting Afghan refugees for four decades. She said this firm generosity has contributed to the global refugee cause at a time when we witness push-backs of refugees and asylum fatigue globally.
As the year 2019 marks the 40 years of the Afghan displacement, Menikdiwela reiterated her call to the international community to help enhance Afghanistan's absorption capacity and provide targeted development assistance in high return areas in Afghanistan for sustainable reintegration of returnees.
She also called for support to Afghan refugees and their host communities. She also reaffirmed UNHCR's commitment to work with the governments of Pakistan and Afghanistan on long-term solutions for 1.4 million registered Afghan refugees in Pakistan. UNHCR provides approximately US 200 dollars to every registered individual upon their return to Afghanistan. Returnees receive the cash grant at UNHCR encashment centers in Afghanistan, the release concluded.