The Federal Minister for States and Frontier Region (Safron) Engineer Shaukat Ullah has said that the government is formulating a new strategy for the Afghan refugees in Pakistan for 2013 onwards but it will require the approval of the federal cabinet.
The Minister along with representative of UNHCR Neill Wright Thursday visited Voluntary Return Centre here in Chamkani in order to assess repatriation process following increase in return package for repatriating Afghan refugees.
Since the start of November, UNHCR Pakistan has enhanced the return package to every registered refugee returning to Afghanistan under the agency\’s facilitated return programme.
During his visit to UNHCR center the minister said that the government acknowledged the efforts of the UN agency in implementing the agreement with the government in increasing the level of voluntary repatriation of Afghan refugees. Regarding the return of refugees to their homeland, Shaukat said that the goodwill which Pakistan had earned by hosting Afghan brothers for over three decades would not go to waste.
He said the refugees who were running their businesses in Pakistan should go back to Afghanistan as the situation is better in the neighbouring country.
Neill Wright said UNHCR had supported Government of Pakistan by providing hundreds of millions of dollars of assistance to the refugees hosted by Pakistan over the past three decades.
He maintained that government of Pakistan continued to respect the fundamental principal that repatriation was voluntary and that no refugee would be forced to go back.
The new assistance package offered by UNHCR included kits, jerry cans, buckets, soaps, mosquito nets, sleeping mats, blankets, cooking sets, plastic tarpaulins, quilts and winter clothes.
The refugees\’ families were also being offered limited transport assistance from the voluntary repatriation centers in Pakistan to the Encashment centers in Afghanistan.
This assistance package is in addition to the USD 150 cash grant provided to returning families and will continue until the end of December 2012, by which time a review of whether the cash grant should be increased in line with inflationary costs, will have been completed.
So far, four groups consisting of some 1300 Afghan refugees have returned home under the Facilitated Return Group (FRG) programme from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces. Overall, 62,500 individuals have returned this year which indicates a 34 percent increase in the number of Afghan refugees to their home country.
Azad Khan a 60-year old Afghan refugee, who was returning to his homeland, said that he along with his family members had come to Pakistan almost 36 years ago due to war in Afghanistan.
He said that the situation in Afghanistan was peaceful now, therefore he was returning to his home town.
