Islamabad:
The federal government has decided to close Afghan refugee camps that have been in operation for 40 years, ordering the shutdown of five such facilities in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) following the return of refugees to their homeland.
The Ministry of Kashmir affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan have issued a notification and instructed that the camps be awarded to the provincial government and the Deputy Commissioners of the relevant districts.
The five camps closed in KP included three camps in the Haripur district, one in chitral and one in Upper Dir. The Panian camp in Haripur alone had, according to officials in Haripur, the house more than 100,000 refugees.
The government began sending undocumented Afghan refugees back in October 2023 with reference to the reasons for increasing crime and terrorism. Earlier this week, Defense Minister Khawaja Asif repeated that Afghan refugees were linked to terrorism in Balochistan and KP.
In Quetta, recently, Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Sarfraz Bugti met the acting Afghan Consul of General Maulvi Muhammad Habib Nasir to discuss the refugee’s return and worthy repatriation to Afghanistan.
Bugti said the process would be gradual and human with special events for the elderly, women and children. He added that the provincial government coordinated with UNHCR to make sure the return on the return continued with dignity.
According to UNHCR, the majority of Afghan refugees in Pakistan are currently residing in KP. However, KP chief minister Ali Amin Gandapur has been against forced re -patriations, while his information adviser recently demanded an immediate stop for the process.
