6,596 Afghan refugees' families repatriated during last five months

ISLAMABAD: The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has repatriated 6,536 Afghan refugees'families to their home country during March 1 to July 30.

According to a spokesman of UNHCR, the agency resumed its voluntary repatriation programme on March 1 via Quetta and Peshawar.

Out of total, 3,785 Afghans families had been repatriated from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 1,368 families from Balochistan, 556 families from Sindh, 801 families from Punjab, 86 families from Islamabad and Azad Kashmir respectively.

This year, the UNHCR has increased its cash assistance grant for voluntary repatriation of Afghans by 50 per cent to an average of $150 per person, depending on travelling distance to their destination.

The UNHCR has advised the Afghan refugees to approach the repatriation centers with their valid Proof of Registration (PoR) cards along with two colored family group photos.

It also urged the Afghans to get validated their expired PoR cards on urgent basis for smooth repatriation process.

All Afghans over the age of five years will have to undergo the verification process at the voluntary repatriation centers (VRCs) to determine if they have already received UNHCR cash assistance.

Copyright APP (Associated Press of Pakistan), 2011