PESHAWAR: Rejecting Islamabad’s draft ‘National Management and Repatriation Policy of Afghans’ as arbitrary, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has opposed extending Afghan refugees’ stay in the country and suggested that should the need arose, registered Afghans be equally distributed among four provinces instead of burdening one federating unit.
Responding to the state and frontier region (Safron) ministry’s draft policy recommendations for Afghan refugees beyond 2013, the provincial government has made two proposals for the ‘sustainable’ repatriation of 1.6 million registered Afghan refugees from Pakistan, an official source told Dawn on Thursday.
“The first proposal is that there should be a comprehensive repatriation plan and all Afghan refugees should be repatriated within a year. The relevant deputy commissioners should be assigned quarterly targets to ensure 100% repatriation within a stipulated period.
“And in case, the federal government wants to continue with the ‘generosity’ of hosting Afghan refugees, then other provinces should equally share the burden. In collaboration with UN refugee agency, it should open new camps in Punjab and Sindh provinces before relocating registered refugees there,” he said.
The official said the provincial government had proposed effective measures to strengthen management of the Durand Line and install biometric system to check movement of Afghan nationals through unfrequented routes.
According to him, the government has decided to give another extension to registered Afghans, but formal timeframe has not been announced until now.
“The federal government is contemplating plan to introduce National Policy on Management and Registration of Afghan as Proof of Registration (PoR) cards issued to 1.6 million refugees by National Database Registration Authority has already expired,” he said. The official said the Safron ministry through a notification has directed provincial governments and all relevant agencies that despite expiry of the cards, status of the registered refugees had not been changed.
He said the Safron ministry asked the relevant quarters to ensure that no harassment or adverse action be taken against registered refugees holding PoR cards until the government finalises national policy on documented Afghans.
The official said the proposed policy was likely to be presented in the next meeting of the federal cabinet for approval.
The relevant local officials said the provincial government had conveyed to the Safron ministry that the province was literally war-ravaged and underdeveloped.
They said the province had been hosting more than 62 per cent of the refugees in 29 of the nationwide 42 camps, while the registered and unregistered Afghans in the province totaled over 1.5 million.
The officials said around 60 per cent of all registered Afghans lived outside camps and had no access to schools managed by the UN agency.
“The huge concentration of Afghans has created serious security problems besides overburdening infrastructure, including health, education and sanitation services,” an official said.
The official said if the refugees’ population was equally distributed among the four provinces, then it would not only reduce burden on Khyber Pakhuntkhwa but also end links among criminal elements of refugees.
He said the provincial government had proposed that UNHCR increase per person grant for refugees from $150 to $500 and other facilities to encourage Afghan nationals to return home under the voluntary programme.
The official said in the draft policy, the Safron ministry had suggested to ask UNHCR and other agencies to make arrangements for the third country settlement of some refugees.