The process of voluntary repatriation of Afghan refugees to their country will resume from next month, a spokesman for the United Nations High Commission for Refugee (UNHCR) said Tuesday.

The spokesman told Radio Pakistan that the process was temporarily suspended in November last year due to winter season.

A repatriation centre has been set up at Chamkani near Peshawar to register refugees willing to go back to Afghanistan.

Examine: What is wrong with repatriating Afghan refugees?

The UNHCR is providing $400 to each returning refugee besides food and other basic items.

The spokesman said 380,000 registered Afghan refugees were repatriated to Afghanistan in 2016.

Last month, the cabinet had approved a policy pertaining to the repatriation of Afghan refugees and barred entry into the country for those refugees who do not have valid visas.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had presided over that meeting during which the refugee repatriation and management policy was approved.

The policy calls for strict implementation of Pakistan's immigration laws along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border and ensuring that those without visas are not allowed entry into the country.

The policy also permits an extension in the stay of registered refugees in the country till December 31, 2017.

Millions of Afghan refugees have been living in Pakistan for decades, first fleeing over the border after the Soviet invasion of 1979.

Some 4.2 million Afghan refugees have returned to Afghanistan voluntarily under the UNHCR-funded Voluntary Repatriation programme since 2002.

Opinion

Editorial

Smog hazard
Updated 05 Nov, 2024

Smog hazard

The catastrophe unfolding in Lahore is a product of authorities’ repeated failure to recognise environmental impact of rapid urbanisation.
Monetary policy
05 Nov, 2024

Monetary policy

IN an aggressive move, the State Bank on Monday reduced its key policy rate by a hefty 250bps to 15pc. This is the...
Cultural power
05 Nov, 2024

Cultural power

AS vital modes of communication, art and culture have the power to overcome social and international barriers....
Disregarding CCI
Updated 04 Nov, 2024

Disregarding CCI

The failure to regularly convene CCI meetings means that the process of democratic decision-making is falling apart.
Defeating TB
04 Nov, 2024

Defeating TB

CONSIDERING the fact that Pakistan has the fifth highest burden of tuberculosis in the world as per the World Health...
Ceasefire charade
Updated 04 Nov, 2024

Ceasefire charade

The US talks of peace, while simultaneously arming and funding their Israeli allies, are doomed to fail, and are little more than a charade.