Over 1.47m Afghans repatriated thus far

PESHAWAR: Over 1.47 million Afghans have returned to their homeland since the start of repatriation as work has been kicked off to close all refugee camps across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Hundreds of families are returning home daily as repatriation of Afghan nationals from different parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa continues.Officials said over 1.47 million have returned home from different provinces since the process of repatriation began.

The federal government the other day ordered closure of all the remaining Afghan refugee camps set up for decades in different districts of the province. A number of camps in Peshawar, Nowshera and other districts have already been closed. There were 43 camps in different parts of KP till recent years.

The other day, 28 remaining camps were ordered to be closed. These included eight camps in Peshawar, five in Hangu, four in Kohat, three each in Nowshera and Dir, two each in Mardan and Swabi, and one in Buner

The deputy commissioners concerned and relevant departments have been directed to take possession of the land vacated by winding up these camps and utilise it for public use. Pakistani authorities have already directed all kinds of Afghans including those who possessed Proof of Registration (PoR) Cards as well as Afghan Citizen Cards (ACCs) to repatriate to their country since both these documents are no longer valid. Only those possessing valid visas and travel documents are allowed to stay in the country.

Tens of thousands have applied for visas to continue running businesses and jobs in Peshawar and other parts of KP.The authorities have also warned locals renting out properties and arranging for the stay of those Afghans after their PoR cards and ACC cards are no longer valid.