UN Refugee agency asks Pakistan to give Afghans more time to relocate

The United Nations refugee agency said today it has asked the Pakistani Government to give over 150,000 Afghan refugees being relocated enough time to choose either voluntary return to Afghanistan or relocation to a camp of their preference in Pakistan.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said that it had made that request after the government in Islamabad announced its decision to close all camps in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) by 31 August and to move Afghan refugees now scattered in and around the capital as well.

The camps in the Bajaur and Kurram Agencies of the FATA region are home to over 105,000 refugees. More than 60,000 Afghan refugees are living around Pakistan's capital, Islamabad.

The announcement is based on a decision by the government last year to close the refugee camps due to security concerns. UNHCR supports the decision as the FATA region has been the scene of continuing clashes between the Pakistani army and rebel tribesmen linked to fighting in Afghanistan. Such insecurity has made it impossible to assist the refugees properly.

The Government has agreed that the refugees would have the choice of returning to Afghanistan or relocating within Pakistan. However, UNHCR, in its request, said that the time frame is too quick for a proper choice to be made.

The refugee agency will facilitate the return of those who choose voluntary repatriation, but relocation will have to be done at the expense of the Government. The refugees can also make their own arrangements.

The camp closures reflect an ongoing policy of consolidation, the agency said, as Afghans continue to repatriate and is part of the normal voluntary return process. More than 217,000 Afghans have returned home from Pakistan this year under the UNHCR voluntary repatriation programme, bringing the total since the start of the operation in 2002 to more than 2.5 million.