- UNHCR likely to open another centre at Aman Kot in Nowshera
Around 200 Afghan families returned to their homeland, as the voluntary repatriation of Afghan refugees staying in Pakistan has been resumed from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after a gap of three months.
“Around 200 families gone back to their homeland on the first day of the repatriation process,” according to the Afghan Refugees Commissionerate. In December 2016, the repatriation process was temporarily stopped due to harsh weather in Afghanistan.
Now after three months, the process has been resumed, said Waqar Maroof, the director general at the Commissionerate. He conformed to the media that the UNHCR has reduced its financial assistance to repatriating Afghans due to financial constraints as a result of lack of donations.
Earlier, the UNHCR paid 400 dollars per person to the repatriating refugee family, but now this financial assistance has been reduced to 200 dollars per person. Presently, repatriation is started only from Chamkani Centre on main GT Road at the outskirts of Peshawar.
The Chamkani Repatriation Centre has the capacity of arranging return of 600 families per day. As rush of repatriating Afghans increased with the passage of time, UNHCR likely to open another centre at Aman Kot in Nowshera district.
When contacted, UNHCR officer Samad Khan said that two repatriation centres – one at Chamkani near Peshawar and second at Balili in Balochistan – would help in return of Afghan nationals to their motherland. Last year, there was a repatriation centre in Kohat, enabling the Afghans to enter their motherland through Kharlachi, Kurram Agency.
So far, around 3,83000 Afghans have availed from the voluntarily repatriation scheme and returned back to their homeland from Pakistan, the official said. Now, the repatriation process will continue till December 31, 2017 till the time the federal government has given permission to Afghan refugees for staying in Pakistan on POR (Proof of Registration) card basis.
“UNHCR is arranging return of Afghan refugees on basis of online registration and registered families are intimated about date and time for reporting at the repatriation centre for proceeding to Afghanistan,” the director general said. At Chamkani, the guest families would face problems due to lack of proper facilities like washrooms, drinking water and others.
“I am going back to motherland after 37 years. I am happy as going back to my own country but unhappy as leaving friends in Pakistan,” said Khan Wali who belongs to the Paktia province of Afghanistan and was residing in Mansehra. “I was born here and become adult in Pakistan, how it is possible to forget this country and its people who give me respect,” said Mohammad Ali who was working as bricks kiln worker in Peshawar.
Said Mohammad and Muhammad Kamran said that across the border in Afghanistan, they would face problems, therefore, they requested UNHCR to review decision of reducing the cash support from 400 to 200 dollars. According to official reports, around 2.3 million Afghan nationals are still residing in scattered areas throughout the country.
