ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: “Let Afghan refugees stay in Pakistan till December 31, 2017 instead of sending back to Afghanistan by March 2017”.
This was recommended by parliamentary leaders during All Parliamentary Leadership Conference on “Repatriation and Management Policy for Afghan Refugees” that took place in capital city of Islamabad on Monday.
The Conference was organised by the Ministry of States and Frontier Regions (SAFRON).
Speakers of Conference called for voluntarily, safe and respectful repatriation of Afghan refugees while recommending extension in the date of repatriation till December 31, 2017.
The participants of the Conference said that the federal government should provide the visa facility to the Afghan refugees like traders, businessmen, skilled and un-skilled labour, doctor and engineers.
They hailed that role of Afghan ambassador for early repatriation of Afghan refugees and holding regular meeting with elders of refugees to convince them to go back their homeland and play a vital role for developing of Afghanistan.
They said that Afghanistan was also taking various step for the rehabilitation and resettlement of refugees and providing land for agriculture purposes.
The Federal Minister of SAFRON Lt. General (retd) Abdul Qadir Baloch said that 1.3 million registered refugees having Proof of Registration Cards (PoR) and un-registered 0.6 million while 33 percent living in camps and 67 percent living off- camps 74 percent refugees children born in Pakistan and 70 percent under age of 24 years.
The minister said that 58 percent Afghan refugees livening in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 22 percent in Balochistan, 12 percent in Punjab, 5 percent in Sindh, 1 percent in Islamabad and Azad Jammu Kashmir respectively.
Qadir Baloch said that around 0.4 million registered and 0.2 million un-registered refugee repatriated from January 1, 2016 to November 10, 2016 while the repatriation process would be close from December 1 due to the winter weather.
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Pervaiz Khattak said that according to the Afghan government law, no-one Pakistani get the service or do the business in Afghanistan and partnership in business.
Pervez Khattak informed the political leaders that after the large number of Afghans refugees’ repatriation this year, the rent of house decreased, the rate of property had come down now and local labour force getting handsome amount on daily basis. He said that due to the refugees, hospital and schools of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were over burden and suggested that All Afghans should come to Pakistan through visa.
The JI Chief Siraj-ul-Haq said that the federal government should make the business visa policy and give the protection to all Afghan refugee businessmen.
The JUI-F Chief Maulana Fazal-ul-Rehman emphasized the need of voluntarily, peaceful and respectful repatriation of Afghan refugees adding that government should give the protection to all the refugee students till the completion of their education.
The Governor KPK Zafar Iqbal Jhagra said that all the recommendation would be send to the all parliamentary parties for final oversight. He said that the federal government with the cooperation of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government taking various step to facilitate the refugees for their voluntarily repatriation.
The Conference was attended by Federal Minister of States and Frontier Regions (SAFRON) Lt. General (retd) Abdul Qadir Baloch, Governor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Zafar Iqbal Jhagra, Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Pervaiz Khattak, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Vice Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) Chairman Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) Chief Maulana Fazal-ur-Rehman, Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Chief Siraj ul Haq, National Party (NP) President Mir Hasil Khan Bazinjo, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Leader Farhat Ullah Babar, Awami National Party (ANP) Leader Ajmal Khattak, Chief Commissioners of Afghan refugees and officials of the SAFRON ministry.
