PESHAWAR, Oct 18: The Population and Census Organization of the Federal Ministry of Population is yet to begin the head-count of Afghans living in the country owing to non-availability of funds, officials said.

An official told Dawn here on Monday that the census could not take off unless donor agencies released funds for the purpose.

"The organization is waiting for the release of funds," the official said, adding that the process was likely to begin by the end of 2004. The government with the assistance of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has planned to conduct country-wide census of the Afghan refugees.

Roughly, the census programme would cost Rs30 million, according to the official. The UN agency would also monitor and facilitate the process apart from providing financial assistance.

The purpose of the refugee census plan is to ascertain the exact number of registered and un-registered Afghans, who have been living in Pakistan since 1979.

Islamabad, which is a non-signatory to the Geneva Convention, has been hosting millions of Afghan refugees for more than three decades without having a national refugee policy.

Sources said that the population organization had completed arrangements to conduct census of the registered and unregistered Afghans and maps of the refugee hosting areas had been prepared.

The officials said that during census process the organization would engage local government representatives and only in the NWFP 2,200 workers would be involved.

According to the proposed plan, the census organization would start house numbering in refugee camps and urban areas across the country and then head counting would commence.