ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: Over 76,300 registered Afghans have returned to Afghanistan this year from January 1 to August 27 through the Voluntary Repatriation Centers of United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR).
Spokesperson of UNHCR Dunya Aslam told the state-run news agency in Islamabad on Monday, said that some 59,000 Afghan refugees repatriated from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 4,600 from Balochistan, 1300 from Sindh, 9,800 from Punjab, 1200 from Islamabad and 130 from Azad Kashmir.
With the weather improving and the increase in cash grant from US$ 200 to 400 per person the number of returning families is slightly increasing.
The UNHCR facilitates the voluntary return of registered Afghan refugees from Pakistan under its facilitated voluntary repatriation programme which is ongoing since 2002. From its start until this date more than 3.9 million Afghan refugees have return from Pakistan, he added.
She said that UNHCR does not have any documented proof or record of how many undocumented Afghans have returned from Pakistan or cross the border on daily basis as border is so porous with many illegal and unofficial crossing points.
UNHCR’s mandate in Pakistan only covers registered Afghan refugees, with valid Proof of Registration (PoR) cards who stay/reside within the boundaries of the country of asylum.
The Proof of Registration card, issued by the Government of Pakistan to registered Afghan refugees is an important protection document, which entitles its holder to stay in Pakistan until December 31, 2016 and it ensures that the refugees have freedom of movement within Pakistan.
PoR card is not an international travel document and thus cannot be used as a visa/passport to cross international border between two countries.
