October 31, 2001	Wednesday	Shaba'an 13, 1422

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ISLAMABAD, Oct 30: Pakistan has agreed to allow more Afghan refugees to enter its borders following an understanding reached with the United Nations High Commissioner of Refugees (UNHCR).

This understanding came when UNHCR chief, Ruud Lubbers, met president General Pervez Musharraf on here on Tuesday.

Speaking at a news conference Mr Lubbers said that site preparations were underway to accommodate up to 300,000 refugees in Pakistan initially, but around one million were expected to take refuge in Pakistan if the conflict in Afghanistan prolonged.

Referring to his meeting, Mr Lubbers said that President Musharraf had agreed to allow entry to three broad categories of Afghans.

First, humanitarian cases including the sick, women, children and the elderly; secondly, illegal Afghans who entered post September 11 would not be deported but allowed to settle in refugee camps, and thirdly, the “hardship cases.”

Mr Lubbers said that the UNHCR was asked to set up camps on the Afghan side of the border. However, the president was told that it was not feasible considering the security situation in Afghanistan as a number of young Afghans could face forced conscription by warring factions, the UNHCR chief said.

He said president Musharraf expressed concern over the burden of three million Afghan refugees already in the country. “His concerns are genuine and the UNHCR will facilitate resettlement of Afghans once the situation returns to normal,” Mr Lubbers said.