PESHAWAR (Pajhwok): Ambassador Dr. Omar Zakhilwal has urged Afghan refugees to return home from Pakistan and join the nation-building processdespite the many challenges their homeland is faced with.
Reposing confidence in the efforts being made by the national unity government, most of the Afghan refugees were returning to their homeland voluntarily, the diplomat said.
On Wednesday, the ambassador visited repatriation centres in Azakhel and Chamkani, where he met elders of the Afghan Refugee Shura.
He also attended the inauguralceremony for a second UNHCR voluntary repatriation centre in the Nowshera district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to facilitate the safe and dignified return of Afghan refugees.
UNHCR Representative in Pakistan Indrika Ratwatte, KP Chief Commissioner for Afghan Refugees Dr. Imran Zeb Khan, ambassadors of the European Union, Austria, the Czech Republic and Denmark were also in attendance.
Ratwatte lauded the Pakistan government’s decision on extending the stay of Afghan refugees to March 31, 2017.“The extension is an important decision by Pakistan which recognises the importance of policies to manage the legal stay of registered Afghans.”
Dr. Zeb acknowledged the Afghan government’s commitment to facilitating the repatriation process and praised the steps being taken by Kabul to enable the refugees’ sustainable reintegration in their country.
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