March 3, 2003	Monday	Zul Hijjah 29, 1423

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ISLAMABAD, March 2: The chief of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Ruud Lubbers, arrived on an official visit here on Sunday.

According to a press release, the UNHCR chief will hold meetings with government leaders, including President Pervez Musharraf, and also visit an Afghan refugee camp.

The visit of Mr Lubbers, who arrived in Islamabad after inspecting the UNHCR operations in Afghanistan, coincides with the start of agency’s programme for repatriation of Afghan refugees in the year 2003.

The statement said, last year more than 1.5 million refugees returned to Afghanistan. The UNHCR has planned to relocate about 600,000 refugees this year to their home country, it added.

Over two million Afghan refugees are still present in Pakistan. However, many refugees demand improvement in economic and security conditions in their country before return.

Mr Lubbers will visit the Afghan refugee camp at Kot Chandna on Monday. The camp, inhabited by about 40,000 Pushto-speaking Afghans, was established after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

The UNHCR chief on Tuesday will discuss the refugee situation with President Musharraf, Prime Minister Jamali, and senior members of the cabinet before flying to Tehran on March 5.

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