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ISLAMABAD - The Afghan refugees’ stay in Pakistan was extended yesterday amid severe weather conditions in the region.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees decided to suspend the repatriation process of Afghan refugees in Pakistan for a few months due to the cold weather, a spokesperson said. The repatriation process will be halted from December 1 till February 28 next year due to the drop in temperature and severe cold, added the spokesperson.

All UNHCR centres in Pakistan and Afghanistan will remain closed during the winter. Registered Afghan refugees will not be given financial compensation in case of their return during the period. The operation will resume from March next year.

Officials of the Afghan commissionerate suggest that nearly 1.4 million refugees had been issued ‘Proof of Registration’ cards and were being managed by the UNHCR.

There were 880,000 refugees who had been issued Afghan citizenship cards under the National Action Plan to register undocumented persons living in Pakistan.

“Almost 500,000 Afghan refugees living in Pakistan are still undocumented,” said one official.

The United Nations refugee agency and local officials say that there were 2.7 million Afghans, including 1.5 million registered as refugees, in Pakistan.

The displaced families have fled decades-long conflict, ethnic and religious persecution, poverty and economic hardships in turmoil-hit Afghanistan.

UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi and UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Mark Lowcock has recently met Prime Minister Imran Khan and expressed their gratitude to the people and government of Pakistan – acknowledging Pakistan’s generosity in hosting one of the world’s largest refugee populations for decades.

UN surveys suggest that around 60 percent of Afghan refugees were either born in Pakistan or were minors when their parents migrated to Pakistan. War-shattered Afghanistan is therefore alien to most of these young people who were already part of the local economy in different ways.

These refugees are reluctant to go back to Afghanistan where security conditions have deteriorated in the wake of the stalemated war between the US-backed Afghan security forces and the Taliban.

During his recent visit to Kabul, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi had “underlined the need for dignified, sustainable repatriation of Afghan refugees to their homeland through a gradual and time-bound plan.”

Pakistan is actively supporting the Afghan peace efforts by the United States, China and Russia. Earlier, the US State Department said that Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad was on a visit to Afghanistan, Pakistan, the United Arab Emirate and Qatar to push for peace negotiations with the Afghan Taliban.

A State Department statement said that Khalilzad was on a visit the region until November 20. “He will meet Afghan government officials and other interested parties to advance the goal of an intra-Afghan dialogue and negotiations that include the Taliban and lead to a sustainable peace,” it said.

This visit is an attempt to bring the Afghan Taliban to the negotiations table with the Afghan government for peace talks. Khalilzad is accompanied by an inter-agency delegation on his trip. He will meet high-level officers and other stakeholders. The dates for his visit to Pakistan have not been announced yet but he will head to the country during the 13-day tour where he will meet the civil and military leadership to find a peaceful solution to the Afghan conflict.

US Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Alice Wells just concluded her visit to Pakistan where she discussed the bilateral and regional issues with the Pakistan officials.

Last week, Additional Secretary at the Foreign Office Mohammed Aejaz led a Pakistani delegation to Moscow for ‘Format Consultations on Afghanistan.’

In his address, the diplomat appreciated the Russian Federation’s role for bringing together an important group of interlocutors with the aim of ensuring peace in Afghanistan.

“Since its first meeting in December 2016, the Moscow consultation forum has continued to grow and gain strength through inclusion of new members. I take this opportunity to welcome the Taliban delegation, besides the Afghan delegation led by senior members of the High Peace Council of Afghanistan. Their presence is the hallmark of today’s consultations for which the efforts made by the organizers of the conference must be appreciated,” he said.

Pakistan, he said, had consistently supported and had remained part of all efforts aimed at providing an enabling environment to find a peaceful resolution to the Afghan issue.

Foreign Office spokesperson Dr Mohammed Faisal said Pakistan had generously hosted the Afghan refugees for decades.

“The world is acknowledging our efforts. We have sacrificed so much for the Afghan refugees and have worked hard for the Afghan peace,” he said.

12 Afghan refugees arrested

in Kohat operation

APP adds: Kohat Police on Sunday arrested three facilitators of proclaimed offenders (POs), 12 Afghan refugees staying illegally in Pakistan and 50 other suspects, with arms and ammunition during a search operation.

District Police Officer (DPO) Capt (retd) Wahid Mehmood told newsmen that the search operation was carried out in Jangal Khel and areas near an Afghan camp. The police recovered two Kalashnikovs, a gun, six pistols and 500 rounds, besides 15 motorcycles and two vehicles, he added.