UN urges Pakistan to be lenient with Afghan refugees

KABUL (Pajhwok): United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)’s global security and supply department head says she has asked Pakistani authorities to extend the cards of Afghan refugees and be lenient with them.

The Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation Affairs (MoRRA) wrote on its X handle that acting minister Khalil Ur Rahman Haqqani met with UNHCR’s Security and Supply department head Shoko Shimozowa and her accompanying delegation yesterday.

The statement said Shimozowa, who returned to the country recently, said: “We held meetings with Pakistani authorities and discussed with them the problems of Afghan migrants, we also asked the authorities to extend the Proof of Registration (PoR) cards of Afghan migrants and be lenient with them.”

MoRRA said: “In the past one year, more than one million refugees have returned to the country, and with the help of God, the government of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) has been able to escort them all to their regions with respect and dignity and provide them with necessary assistance, if international organizations provide their assistance properly, no one will be left homeless and destitute."

Haqqani during his meeting with the UNHCR delegation emphasised the need for more bilateral understanding and cooperation and said that all works should be carried out according to rules and regulations of the IEA.

The government of Pakistan has launched a crackdown against undocumented aliens since November 1 and so far tens of thousands of Afghan migrants have been deported to their country via Spin Boldak and Torkham crossings.

aw/ma