Govt to distribute 200,000 land plots to returnees

JALALABAD (Pajhwok): Members of the commission on repatriates says the government has allocated 200,000 land plots for the newly deported refugees who lack shelter to build houses for themselves in some provinces of the country.

The government is also ready to provide land for returnees who are interested to invest in the country, officials say.

The government of the Islamic Emirate has created some committees within the structure of the High Commission for Repatriates.

One such committee is tasked with distributing land plots to the returnees who have no house or land to build houses for themselves.

The head of the Land plots Distribution Committee Maulvi Ataullah Omari, who visited Torkham to hear problems of the returnees, said, the government will provide shelter for them.

Each ten-member family will be provided a plot of 2.5 kanal of land and families having 15 members will be distributed about four kanal of land.

He said families returning from neighboring countries who needed land for businesses and investment would be given land plots.

The returnees are also given permanent legal documents so they face no problem in future and families who want to do business will be awarded contracts based on their needs and demand.

However, the returnees want the government to provide them with land for building houses and employment opportunities.

One of them, Sayed Hassan, who returned from Pakistan’s Multan city and currently lives in Sheikh Misry township of Jalalabad, said besides shelter, finding job was their another big problem.

Hassan said: “We need both houses and employment, if the government does not provide us both, we will be forced to leave the country again.”

The government of Pakistan, which launched a nationwide crackdown on undocumented aliens on November 1, has so far forcefully evicted about 450,000 Afghans.

aw/ma