Return of Afghans
By the Editor

REPORTS emanating from Peshawar say that there is an upsurge in repatriation of the Afghan refugees to their homeland following setting of the deadline for the purpose and increase in the amount of cash grant for them.

Unregistered Afghan refugees, who fall in the category of illegal immigrants, have been told to voluntarily return to their country by April 15 and UNHCR has announced to provide $100 per head to such people.

The reports suggest that this has helped increase the number of those opting to go back to Afghanistan to about four thousand refugees per day.

This seems to be a healthy trend and shows that given the right kind of incentives, the refugees are willing to return to their country.

However, on several occasions in the past as well packages including cash grants, food and essential items were offered and in fact thousands went back just to return on the first available opportunity.

The repatriation process so far has not succeeded mainly because no proper arrangements have ever been made in Afghanistan for their rehabilitation.

That is why the number of Afghan refugees in Pakistan is as high as over three million. Pakistan has extended generous hospitality to Afghans for over two decades at the cost of its troops own limited resources but now some elements are misusing the hospitality and indulging in acts of criminality.

At the same time refugee camps are reported to have become recruiting grounds for Taliban and Al-Qaeda. In this backdrop, Pakistan has been urging the international community to take urgent measures for shifting of these camps deep inside Afghanistan but the response is not as swift as the situation demands.

Thus, it is time for all concerned—the UNHCR, Afghan Government, United States and EU—to set in motion a comprehensive plan for the rehabilitation of refugees in Afghanistan—as quickly as possible.●