The government of Pakistan has extended the deadline for the voluntary repatriation of Afghan refugees to June 30, 2018.
An official of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on Tuesday dispelled the impression that deadline for voluntary repatriation of Afghan refugees from Pakistan had been over and said the Government of Pakistan had extended the date till June 30, 2018.
Qaiser Khan Afridi, spokesperson for UNHCR in Pakistan, told media that after resuming the voluntary repatriation process about 2,000 individuals had gone back to Afghanistan in March this year.
He hoped the process would be expedited in Khyber Pakhtunkhaw and Balochistan in coming months as UNHCR’s voluntary repatriation centres in Quetta and Nowshera would remain open for this purpose.
He said that the UNHCR voluntary repatriation centres in Pakistan were closed from December 2017 to February 28, 2018 during winter season.
The UNHCR official said that a total of 1.4 million registered Afghan refugees were still living in Pakistan with majority based in Khyber Pakhtunkhaw.
“The UNHCR wants voluntary, safe, dignified and gradual return of the Afghan refugees to their home country,” Afridi said. He added that Pakistan would fully cooperate with the UN agency.
