Pakistan verifying data related to Afghan refugees

PESHAWAR (Pajhwok): With support from the United Nations, Pakistan is updating and verifying data related to Afghan refugees living in the country.

At the end of the UHCR-assisted verification drive, undertaken after 10 years, the documented refugees will be issued with smart identity cards.

The exercise began as US President Joe Biden announced the withdrawal of all foreign forces from Afghanistan before Sept. 11.

Muhammad Usman, a spokesman for the Commissionerate for Afghan Refugees, said 600 government and UNHCR officials had been assigned to 35 areas across the country for the registration process.

Mobile vans are carrying out the exercise, according to the spokesman, who explained the six-month drive would not cover undocumented refugees.

About three million documented and undocumented Afghan refugees are living in Pakistan, making it the largest refugee population in the world after the Syrians in Turkey.

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