TUESDAY JUNE 23: Afghan DPs' return with dignity top priority: Prime Minister

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif Monday said that Pakistan took care of Afghan refugees as a sacred duty and their return with dignity was a priority of the government. He was talking to UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Gutterres who called on him at the PM House. Matters relating to Afghan refugees in Pakistan including their repatriation to their homeland came under discussion, said a press release of the PM House.
The Prime Minister said Pakistan paid a heavy price in fighting terrorism and now there was a national consensus to eliminate this menace. He said operation Zarb-e-Azb successfully destroyed terrorists' hideouts and networks and the first batch of displaced persons had returned to their homes.
He said the government had allocated one billion dollars for reconstruction and rehabilitation of the affected area. Gutterres informed the Prime Minister that he was on his annual Ramazan solidarity visit and extended condolences on the loss of lives due to heat wave in Karachi. Minister for Safron Lieutenant General Abdul Quadir Baloch (Retd), Advisor to PM on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz, Secretary to PM Javed Aslam, Secretary Safron Pir Bux Jamali and Commissioner Refugees Imran Zeb Khan were present in the meeting.