More Afghans return home under UNHCR repatriation plan
Close to 11,000 Afghans have returned home from Pakistan since the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) began a voluntary repatriation programme six weeks ago, UN officials said today.
According to the Office of the UN Coordinator for Afghanistan, 2,300 Afghans were repatriated from Pakistan last week. Since 3 July, a total of 37 convoys have ferried the returnees to their villages of origin - 23 from the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) and 14 from Baluchistan.
The convoys leave from Pakistan four times a week to relatively stable destinations in southern, central and eastern Afghanistan. All the convoys are escorted by UNHCR, which provides an aid package consisting of a 6,000 rupees ($90) cash grant, one plastic sheet per family and 150 kilogrammes of wheat distributed by the UN World Food Programme (WFP).