Repatriation of Afghan refugees resumes

Pakistan resumed the repatriation of Afghan refugees on Monday, sending nearly 1,200 people back across the heavily guarded northern Torkham border, an official at the United Nation's refugee body said. Pakistan is home to the world's second largest refugee population, with a total of 2.5 million Afghans living there. Many have been in Pakistan since the Soviet invasion in 1979.
Relations between the two countries have deteriorated significantly in recent years. Kabul and Islamabad blame each other for terrorist attacks on either side of the border. After a series of attacks in Pakistan left more than 130 people dead in February, Islamabad shut down its border crossings with Afghanistan and began planning to build a fence along the 2,500 km (1,500 mile) border. Human Rights Watch has accused the U.N. of allowing Pakistan to forcibly evict Afghan refugees in violation of international law. Rights activists say they expect little change this year in either Pakistani policies or the inability of the Afghan government and aid groups to support the tide.
Pakistan denies systematic harassment of the refugees by its authorities. It claims the country has demonstrated great generosity in hosting the Afghans despite its own economic limitations. The Afghans going home now are leaving voluntarily, it says. However, the Afghans complain about constant harassment and a lack of citizenship rights for those who have spent decades living and working in Pakistan.