ISLAMABAD: A total of 1.621 million Afghan refugees have still been residing in various areas of the country, Minister for States and Frontier Regions Lt Gen (r) Abdul Qadir Baloch said Friday.
Answering questions in the National Assembly, he said over 3.8 million Afghan refugees have repatriated to their native country since 2002 on voluntary basis.
Giving breakup of the residing Afghan refugees in the country, he said 987,299 Afghan refugees are still residing in Khyber Pakhtunkhaw.
In Fata 14,957, In Gilgit-Baltistan 16, In Sindh, 67,238 Afghan refugees, in Punjab 179,990, in Islamabad 34,124 Afghan refugees, in Balochistan 330,756 and 6,448 Afghan refugees are still residing in various areas of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).
He said a new policy has been formulated to repatriate the remaining 1.621 million refugees, who are still residing in the country. The repatriation package of Afghan refugees has been enhanced from $ 100 per returnee to $ 150 per returnee.
The Afghan government has identified 48 reintegration sites at various secure places for returning Afghan refugees. They are persuaded for development initiatives in the said sites to attract maximum number of Afghan refugees.
There exists a tripartite agreement between the government of Afghanistan and Pakistan under the UNCHR, according to which the repatriation of Afghan refugees is on voluntary basis.
The federal cabinet has extended the voluntary repatriation of the refugees till December 2015.
The Voluntarily Repatriation Centre would remain operational throughout the calendar year in Khyber Pakhtunkhaw and Balochistan to facilitate maximum voluntary repatriation of Aghan refugees, he said.
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