Rain and delays slow Afghan repatriation process at Landi Kotal camp

PESHAWAR: The return of Afghan refugees to Afghanistan is continuing, with more than 10,000 people already having gone back, while thousands of others have reached the holding camp in Landi Kotal after crossing over and many more from different districts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab are arriving there to complete entry, registration and return procedures.

The process, however, has been slowed by a lack of basic facilities, limited staff and technical problems, creating difficulties for both refugees and local residents. Heavy rain in the area over the past day added to the problems at the camp, disrupting repatriation activities and exposing hundreds of refugees staying in the open to cold weather and hardship.

Residents of Landi Kotal offered shelter in their hujras to some affected families, while many others remained in open fields without essential facilities. Local welfare groups and social activists distributed food, water and warm items at the camp and on approach roads in an effort to reduce the impact of the rain and cold. Community elders appreciated the humanitarian assistance but said more organised and sustained relief was needed.

Registration bottlenecks

Delays in immigration and registration have emerged as a key obstacle. Afghan refugees and local elders in Landi Kotal called for more immigration staff to speed up the process. They said registration work had previously also been carried out at the Torkham border, which helped share the burden, but with all activity now concentrated at the Landi Kotal holding camp, overcrowding has increased.

The National Database and Registration Authority has established 10 windows at the camp, but only two are being used for manifest preparation. These two counters are handling complete documentation, including fingerprints and photographs for children above 10 years of age, resulting in long queues and waits lasting several hours.

Officials acknowledged that adding more windows could help accelerate the process. NADRA authorities also cited problems in obtaining fingerprints because of henna on the hands of Afghan women and rough skin on the hands of men, which is slowing biometric verification. Weak internet connectivity is also affecting data transmission and causing further delays.

Border closure hits local economy

The Torkham border crossing is currently open only for the return of Afghan refugees, while normal pedestrian movement and commercial activity remain suspended. Other crossings along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border are also closed for trade, a situation that has badly affected the local economy.

Traders, transporters, hotel owners, customs clearing agents and daily-wage workers in Landi Kotal urged the government to reopen the border for commercial activity at the earliest so that livelihoods linked to cross-border trade can resume. Local elders said the prolonged closure has sharply raised unemployment and brought business activity in the area close to a standstill, warning of deeper economic hardship if the situation is not improved soon.

Relief measures announced

On the directives of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Muhammad Sohail Afridi, his elder brother Naveed Afridi visited the Afghan refugees’ holding camp in Landi Kotal along with officials of the Provincial Disaster Management Authority and the Khyber district administration.

During the visit, the delegation reviewed camp facilities, the problems being faced by refugees and the overall administrative arrangements. Naveed Afridi announced immediate relief steps, saying 70 tents would be installed in the first phase along with three large communal tents for collective use.

He also directed that a regular medical camp be set up to provide timely treatment to sick refugees, while instructions were issued to ensure an uninterrupted supply of food items. Officials said that on the special orders of Chief Minister Afridi, tents and food supplies had already been sent to the camp and distributed among Afghan refugees. They added that complaints related to NADRA had been taken seriously and the relevant departments had been directed to address the issues without delay.