ISLAMABAD: The government has decided to strictly implement immigration laws along the border with Afghanistan, requiring registered refugees to surrender their Proof of Registration (POR) cards before going to their country and obtain visas to enter Pakistan again, besides extending the refugees’ period of stay from March 31 to Dec 31.

The decisions were taken by the federal cabinet at a meeting presided over by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif here on Tuesday.

Besides taking up the repatriation and management policy for Afghan refugees, the cabinet members also received a briefing on electoral reforms as suggested by a parliamentary committee and endorsed a number of its recommendations, including the one granting administrative and financial autonomy to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

Sources told Dawn that the decisions were taken by the cabinet in the light of proposals submitted by the Ministry of States and Frontier Regions (Safron) regarding repatriation and management of Afghan refugees, who had been living in the country for more than three decades.

They said the interior ministry had been directed to ensure implementation of immigration laws on the holders of POR cards in an effort to check free movement along the border as part of new border management policy.

Cabinet extends period of refugees’ stay till Dec 31, endorses recommendations of electoral reforms committee

However, the sources said, the Ministry of Safron had suggested a “flexible visa policy” for different categories, including students, businessmen and traders and in the case of inter-marriages.

They said Afghan refugees would have to surrender their POR cards if they decided to go back to their country, and they would not be able to enter Pakistan again without a visa and other legal documents.

The interior ministry would issue visas to Afghan students, businessmen and traders after verification through heads of educational institutions, the Board of Investment or chambers of commerce and industry, the sources said. The government is also considering a flexible visa regime for those who want to visit the country for medical treatment.

After the cabinet meeting, Law Minister Zahid Hamid and Minister of State for Information Marriyum Aurangzeb gave a briefing to reporters.

Ms Aurangzeb said the cabinet had decided to extend validity of the POR cards up to Dec 31. She said the interior ministry had been directed to expedite the pace of work on identification of unregistered Afghan refugees with the help of the National Database and Registration Authority and the National Alien Registration Authority.

Now, she said, the immigration laws would be applicable along the Afghan border as movement through “passes and corridors” was also being linked to visa regime.

The minister said the parliamentary committees had been assigned the task of keeping an oversight on implementation of the policy about Afghan refugees.

UNHCR reaction

The United Nations refugee agency, the UNHCR, has welcomed the federal cabinet’s decision to adopt a national policy on management of Afghan refugees and nationals in Pakistan.

UNHCR representative in Pakistan Indrika Ratwatte said in a statement: “Today’s announcement is a step change for Afghan refugees and those Afghans living in Pakistan without documentation. The introduction of a visa regime has a potentially transformative impact on people’s daily lives.”

“The UNHCR appreciates the Pakistan government’s support to the Afghan refugees for nearly four decades. The UNHCR will continue to seek robust international support for voluntary repatriation and more equitable responsibility-sharing to fully support Afghan refugees and host communities in Pakistan,” he said.

Electoral reforms

The law minister said the cabinet had endorsed several recommendations of the parliamentary committee on electoral reforms to ensure free, fair and transparent elections in the country.

The recommendations include making vote recounting mandatory in the constituencies where the margin of defeat is less than 10,000 votes and an amendment to the law to ensure uniformity in the printing of ballot papers. Under the amendment, the ECP will be authorised to print ballot papers with a formula of rounding off to the next hundred to avoid criticism about printing of excess ballot papers.

Mr Hamid said the cabinet also decided to grant complete financial autonomy to the ECP as given to the Supreme Court. “We will grant as much powers to the commission as possible,” he said.

Under a recommendation endorsed by the cabinet, he said, political parties would be bound to award five per cent of tickets for contesting election to women. Similarly, to encourage women’s participation in elections, results of the constituencies where women’s turnout remains less than 10 per cent will be considered void.

The minister said the committee had suggested restrictions on caretaker government to bar it from making agreements or important decisions which could create problems for the next elected government. He, however, said no agreement had been reached so far on the mechanism for the appointment of caretaker government.

Pakistan was perhaps the only country in the world where elections were conducted under caretaker governments, the minister said.

He expressed the hope that the proposed elections laws would be presented in the parliament in the form of a bill in the next month.

Working boundary

Mr Hamid said the cabinet had decided to increase the compensation amount for those killed or injured due to shelling by Indian security forces along the Working Boundary. The cabinet also approved a plan to build bunkers around the villages located near the Working Boundary, particularly in Narowal, Pasroor and Sialkot.

Published in Dawn February 8th, 2017