The Pakistan Cabinet this week endorsed a new `Strategy for the Management of Afghans in Pakistan’ which includes extending the validity of the Proof of Registration (PoR) cards - issued to registered Afghan refugees -- till December 31, 2012. The existing PoR cards – issued during an extensive registration exercise in 2006 – expired last year and will be replaced with new cards.
This decision is in keeping with an agreement reached by the Pakistan Government with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) earlier this month as per which an estimated 1.7 million Afghans can continue to take shelter here for three more calendar years.
The agreement also charts out a slew of measures regarding the temporary stay of Afghan refugees in Pakistan, their gradual and voluntary repatriation in line with the security situation and capacity of Afghanistan to absorb them, and international support for hosting one of the largest refugee communities in the world.
Under the agreement, UNHCR will raise $140 million from the international community to fund the Refugee Affected and Hosting Areas (RAHA) programme, which includes development projects aimed at boosting employment prospects, reviving agricultural and irrigation systems, repairing farm to market roads, improving crop and livestock production, and marketing produce.
The UNHCR will also raise funds for the Registration Information Project of Afghan Citizens (RIPAC) to improve the quality of registration data besides update and correct the PoR cards so that information about the Afghan population remains current.
According to the UN refugee agency, 45 per cent of the Afghans are camped in refugee villages while the rest are scattered among host communities. Hence, the RAHA programme covers both Afghans and Pakistanis in 21 districts across Balochistan and the North West Frontier Province.
Welcoming Pakistan Government’s decision, UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres said: ``This is clearly welcome. Pakistan remains host to the largest refugee population in the world and its continuing generosity in response to the uprooted is vital.”
He also urged the international community to strengthen its support to Pakistan for hosting Afghan refugees; taking into account the needs of the refugee-impacted areas and their communities. ``Funding needs to be commensurate with the generosity shown by Pakistan over the past three decades.”
