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More Afghan professionals returning home, UN refugee agency reports

More Afghan professionals returning home, UN refugee agency reports

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While the number of Afghans returning home from Pakistan this year has declined, with 100,000 crossing the border so far, their composition shows an increase in those with professional skills such as engineering, medicine and education, the United Nations refugee agency reported today.

The voluntary repatriation of Afghans, who fled decades of war and factional fighting, is the largest return programme ever carried out by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), with over 4.5 million going home since 2002, including 2.8 million from Pakistan and 1.47 million from Iran.

“The drop could be because Afghans who wanted to return have already done so, five years into UNHCR’s voluntary return operation,” spokesman William Spindler told a news briefing in Geneva.

Compared to previous years, the pace of returns has declined. In June 2006, 24,780 Afghans returned home - a 66 per cent drop over the June 2005 figure of 73,373 returns, and 48 per cent lower than the 47,940 in June 2004.

But the figures showed an increase in skilled categories such as legal practitioners, masons, plumbers and agricultural and office workers, all with much-needed expertise to rebuild Afghanistan, he noted.

An estimated 2.6 million Afghans still remain in Pakistan while more than 900,000 are believed to be still living in Iran.

Voluntary repatriation continues under tripartite agreements between Afghanistan, UNHCR, and the governments of Pakistan and Iran separately. An Iranian delegation is currently in Kabul for the 10th tripartite commission meeting to discuss the return of Afghans in Iran.