The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has repatriated 1,757 Afghans refugees to their home country during March. The UNHCR resumed its voluntary repatriation programme on March 1 via Quetta and Peshawar. According to an UNHCR spokesman, 736 Afghans had been repatriated from Balochistan, 738 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 108 from Sindh, 165 from Punjab, 10 from Islamabad and Azad Kashmir.
Some 3,682,704 Afghan nationals have been repatriated to their country since 2002. This year, the UNHCR has increased its cash assistance grant for voluntary repatriation of Afghans by 50 percent 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 cards along with two coloured family group photos. It also urged the Afghans to get validated their expired PoR cards on urgent basis for smooth repatriation process.
The PoR cards will be cancelled at the VRCs by Pakistan's National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) before Afghans depart for Afghanistan. The UNHCR has further advised the registered Afghans to get information regarding the functioning of the centers and their timings on helpline numbers. It asked the Afghans to reach the VRCs before 12 noon, otherwise they would have to wait till the next day for repatriation process.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan VRC (addresses and work schedule) Chamkani Voluntary Repatriation Center, Gul Abad, Chamkani (G.T. Road), near Chamkani Police Station located in Peshawar, Opening hours: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday & Saturday: open 8.00 am to 3.30pm- Sundays: open 8.00am to 12.00pm and Thursdays and Fridays: closed Baleli Voluntary Repatriation Center in Balochistan is located on the Quetta-Chaman road, Opening hours: Sunday to Wednesday 8.00am to 3.30pm, Thursday 8.00 to 12.00pm Friday and Saturday: closed Afghans can contact the UNHCR for further information Islamabad: - 0300-5018698 - Peshawar- 0300-8585600 - Quetta 0333-7819601.
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