ISLAMABAD, Feb 17: The UN High Commission for Refugees has decided to open seven voluntary repatriation centres in Pakistan, each with a capacity to process repatriation of 5,000 Afghans per day.

A UNHCR official, Peter Nicholas, told Dawn that each refugee family would be given $100 for travel expenses, in addition to other assistance for their rehabilitation.

To a question, he said the first voluntary repatriation centre would start functioning on March 1, in Tartabek, outside Peshawar.

However, he said, details about the establishment of other six voluntary repatriation centres in different parts of the country were being worked out with the government.

Under the plan, the returning refugees would be responsible for hiring their own transport and required to appear at one of the registration centres before crossing the border. Once inside Afghanistan, they can approach any UNHCR centres located along the main entry points, where they will receive a cash grant of up to $100 for a family of five to cover the travel expenses.

Under the rehabilitation plan, refugees would receive a three-month supply of wheat flour from the World Food Programme at distribution centres which would be set up in each of Afghanistan’s 32 provinces. They would also be given UNHCR repatriation kits containing plastic tarpaulins, blankets, water, soap and other items.

Meanwhile, a statement issued by the UNHCR warned against immediate mass return of more than 3.5 million Afghans currently living in Iran and Pakistan.

“While the UNHCR will help those who decide on their own to return to Afghanistan, the country’s fragile security situation and the continuing effects of drought and a devastated economy mean that the UN refugee agency cannot yet actively promote large-scale, organized repatriation,” the statement said.

The UNHCR said that despite the precarious security situation in many parts of Afghanistan, it expects the demand from refugees to be “quite high,” but did not give specific figures.

Since Jan 1, more than 3,100 Afghans have been returning daily, bringing the number of returning refugees to more than 143,000 during this period.

“The majority of these recent returnees are from among Afghanistan’s ethnic minority groups,” the agency. “Many are educated, indicating a possible boost for Afghanistan’s war and drought shattered economy.”

While the UNHCR prepares for the expected returns, it is dealing with a flood of fresh refugees arriving at the Chaman border. Some 10,000 new arrivals are camped at the edge of UNHCR’s Killi Faizo site.

The new arrivals are being gradually shifted to new UNHCR camps along the border, which currently hold 135,000 people who arrived in Balochistan since September last.

The UNHCR said it was also working with the authorities in Iran to survey 10 sites where voluntary repatriation centres could be set up. In addition, three special exit points will be built along Iran’s 900-mile border with Afghanistan, the UNHCR said, adding, the return operation in Iran is not scheduled to begin until April 1.