Issues of all returnees will be addressed: Haqqani

KHOST CITY (Pajhwok): Nearly 90 new Afghan families who have recently returned from Pakistan and other countries distributed 1.7 million afs and other assistance in southern Khost province.

Refugees and Repatriations Minister Khalil Rahman Haqqani while addressing a gathering said every family was provided 19,000 afs, tents, clothes, shoes and other different items.

He thanked the government of China for the provision of timely assistance and pledged that efforts were underway to provide assistance to other needy families.

He said: “All newly arrived refugees will enjoy the privileges provided by the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. Most of the refugees who came here from different ways are not registered, they would be registered and all of their problems would be addressed,” he said

Jan Saeed, a newly repatriated Afghan refugee from Pakistan, thanked the Chinese government for the support.

He demanded more assistance in the future.

“We are suffering from poverty, some people are homeless, we were deported from Pakistan and we don’t have work, we want a plot somewhere so that we could build our house.”

Taj Ali, another resident of Khost, said he returned from Pakistan 10 months ago and lived in Khost.

Besides shelter, he demanded support for the provision of drinking water, and construction of houses and in other areas.

He said: “We are happy with this aid, it helped the vulnerable, these people came from Pakistan and live in the houses of other people, they don’t have work and whatever they had left behind.”

According to the Refugees Department, 2,800 families have returned from Pakistan and the economic condition of most families was not stable.

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