KARACHI: Sindh Governor Dr. Ishratul Ebad has said that all the Afghan refugees living in Karachi and elsewhere in the country should voluntarily get themselves registered by December 31, 2015 deadline to avoid any inconvenience.
Talking to United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) delegation which led by its Country Head Indrika Ratwatte called on him at Governor House here on Tuesday, he said that Pakistan government despite limited resources has always tried its best to provide better living conditions for Afghan refugees.
However, he said because of unavailability of proper camps many Afghan refugees have settled across the city.
The Governor said Pakistan has been hosting Afghan refugees for the last 30 years, and it is unprecedented that a country has accommodated such a large number of refugees for this long period.
He said that now a stable government is in power in Afghanistan and it is high time these people actively participate in the development of their country.
Dr. Ishratul Ebad observed that security related and other problems emerged due to non-registration of refugees.
On the occasion, UNHCR Country Head Indrika Ratwatte told the Governor that Pakistan and Afghanistan governments are making serious efforts to resolve the problems of the refugees and encouraging them to return to their homeland.
The UNHCR representative said both the governments have a consensus that refugees should be registered and carry travel documents for crossing border.
He told the Governor that 63,000 registered Afghans are living in Karachi, while non-registered Afghans are between 0.7 million to 0.8 million.
Indrika Ratwatte said at the moment 1.5 million Afghans have been registered, while there are still 1 million Afghans who have yet to register themselves.
He informed that UNHCR is providing 1,500 dollars to each Afghan refugee family for their return to their country.
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