April 8, 2003	Tuesday	Safar 5, 1424

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ISLAMABAD April 7: The process of repatriation of 1.8 million Afghan refugees to their homeland was set in motion after a tripartite agreement signed in Brussels last month but the officials doubt the programme could meet with complete success.

It may be mentioned that the federal minister for Kana, Afghan minister for rehabilitation and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees had signed the agreement which calls for a voluntary repatriation of 1.8 million Afghan DPs from Pakistan over the next three years.

The article 6(1) of the agreement says: “The parties hereby reaffirm that the repatriation of Afghan citizens who have sought refuge in Pakistan shall only take place at their freely expressed wish based on their knowledge of the conditions relating to voluntary repatriation.”

A high official in the refugees management told Dawn that the insertion of the word ‘voluntary’ for repatriation has made the whole process unreliable since a vast majority of the Afghan DPs were not willing to return.

Some 1.5 million Afghan refugees had returned back to their homes in the year 2001-2002.

A recent survey conducted with the help of the United Nations agency showed that only 12 per cent of the refugees were ready for voluntary repatriation while the remaining wanted to stay back for a variety of reasons.

Figures about the number of DPs still in Pakistan are also at variance with each other, with the officials putting it at 2.3 million while the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees counting it at 1.7 million.

Under the programme, between 0.4 and 0.6 million Afghan DPs were to be repatriated every year but none could be forced to leave the country.

The interim Kabul administration insisted on the government of Pakistan before agreeing to the contents of the agreement that the repatriation should be voluntary and not compulsory/forced.

In a situation where the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees is short of funds (a 40 per cent cut has been applied on its worldwide funding) and the compensation for the returning refugees is meagre, the desired goal may not be achieved.

A tripartite commission comprising six members from each party will supervise and facilitate the repatriation process.

According to the agreement, each family of five to seven persons will be provided 150 kg of wheat and US $20 to 100 (depending on the size of the family) on crossing the Pakistan-Afghanistan border and each refugee will go through a computerised recording so that no one goes unchecked if he returns back.