KABUL, March 23: Afghanistan has signed agreements on the repatriation of refugees from Pakistan and the Netherlands, a spokeswoman for the United Nations said on Sunday.

Maki Shinohara of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees said the agreement with Pakistan was signed at an Af-ghan reconstruction meeting in Brussels and the Dutch accord in the Hague.

She said the agreement jointly signed by the UNHCR in Brussels would cover Islamabad’s commitment to returning refugees over the next three years.

“Despite the absence of a formal agreement last year, the UNHCR and the Afghan government had assisted the return of 1.5 million Afghans from Pakistan in 2003,” Ms Shinohara said and added that an estimated 1.5 million remained in Pakistan.

She said refugee returns from Pakistan and Iran had begun to increase after almost grinding to a halt over winter.

The Netherlands agreed to assist the return of the 40,000 refugees living in the country, while continuing to host those who wished to stay until April 2004.—APP