ISLAMABAD, Feb 22: The government in collaboration with the UN refugee agency is launching a 10-day census of all Afghans living in the country on Wednesday.

A statement issued by the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) here on Tuesday said nearly 20,000 government employees would profile all those Afghans who came to Pakistan since December 1979.

The UNHCR- financed $750,000 census would provide the first substantive figures on the number of Afghans, their year of arrival, place of origin, present address, means of livelihood and intent to repatriate.

Participation in the census is mandatory for all Afghans who came to Pakistan since the Soviet invaded their country in December 1979. Those failing to do so would be excluded from a proposed subsequent registration designed to provide them with some sort of documents.

Present estimates by Pakistan put the number of Afghans in various parts of Pakistan close to three million. According to the UNHCR figures, a million Afghans are in the refugee camps.