Afghan refugees' camp UNHCR calls for resolution of land issue

The UNHCR has called for resolution of land issue of Azakhel Afghan refugees' camp in district Nowshera, as the refugees are unable to return to their damaged settlement, displaced by last year's flash floods in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
More than 0.4 million people were displaced and destroyed and an estimated 1.7 million homes damaged in last year devastating floods, out which tens of thousands of Afghan refugees. Most of them have rebuilt their damaged homes. However, the residents of the Azakhel refugee village in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province have still not been able to return to houses.
The Afghan refugees' camps were established in Azakhel, Nowshera some 30 years ago after fleeing people during the war in Afghanistan. Around 23,000 Afghans refugees were resided in the camp at the time of the floods. Owing the flash floods, the Afghans refugees had lost their homes, livelihoods and business in the disaster like situation. After the devastating floods, they took shelter with their relatives and rented accommodation along-with makeshift shelters.
UNHCR has expressed desire to return Afghans refugees to their village as constantly contacting with them. The provincial government and the Chief Commissioner for Afghan refugees in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa said that the Afghans refugees should relocate to Shamshatoo settlement, as Azakhel remains flood prone. Several hundred families have moved to other refugee settlements while some 400 families have repatriated to Afghanistan. UNHCR had agreed that all areas of Azakhel are not suitable for reconstruction, but a technical assessment carried out last year concluded that homes and infrastructure could effectively be rebuilt on higher ground. The agency had offered to carry out the necessary work. Discussions on the fate of Azakhel, and that decision's impact on the lives of the thousands Afghan refugees, who wish to return to the village, began nearly 12 months ago. UNHCR has urged the provincial government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the Ministry of States and Frontier Regions, and the Chief Commissioner for Afghan Refugees to resolve this issue by allowing those Afghan refugees who wish to return to Azakhel to do so with the assistance of the UN refugee agency.
"That so many people have restarted their lives after such a destructive natural disaster is a testament to the strength and resilience of the people of Pakistan," said Mengesa Kebede, UNHCR Representative in Pakistan. "As our assistance to flood victims continues, we believe a decision on Azakhel would allow another community to rebuild." Within days the floods had hit areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and soon spread to Sindh and Punjab in southern Pakistan. UNHCR emergency operations rapidly expanded to all four affected provinces. Shelter and other humanitarian assistance were ultimately provided to more than two million people. The agency continues to manage a programme to provide 45,000 vulnerable families with permanent shelters.
Across Pakistan, all but five flood displacement camps have closed. All five are located in Jaffarabad in Balochistan province. Several thousand people remain in makeshift settlements mainly in Sindh, Punjab and Balochistan. The residents of these settlements say they have not returned due to the cost of rebuilding, outstanding loans or property disputes.