16,446 people who had been living in Pakistan unlawfully as Afghan refugees have returned home during the last two weeks as part of the ongoing repatriation process. According to Radio Pakistan, this raises the total number of Afghans who have been repatriated to 637,427.
There are currently more than 2.5 million Afghan refugees residing in Pakistan, and a comparable number in Iran.
The interim Afghan administration has been pushing its nationals living overseas to come back and help restore their devastated nation.
In a recent move, the federal cabinet of Pakistan extended by three months the validity of the “Proof of Registration (POR) cards” given to Afghan refugees.
The first part of the repatriation programme is under underway. It is being carried out in stages.
There are about 2.18 million registered Afghan refugees living in Pakistan, according to data from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
The repatriation campaign emphasises the need for proper documents and adherence to immigration restrictions, in line with both international and Pakistani laws.
