May 18, 2006	Thursday	Rabi-us-Sani 19, 1427

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PESHAWAR, May 17: Over 50,000 Afghan refugees have gone back to their home country under the UN voluntary repatriation programme since March, says the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

A UNHCR press release issued here on Wednesday said that some 30,000 refugees had returned from the NWFP, 10,000 from Balochistan, 5,500 from Sindh and around 4,900 from Punjab.

All eligible refugees are being provided by the UNHCR a travel grant of between $4 and $37 each plus a grant of $12 each to ease reintegration once they reached home.

The press release said that over 2.7 million Afghans had returned to their homeland during the last four years, making it the largest voluntary repatriation programme in the UNHCR history.

Pakistan is still home to 2.6 million Afghans.

KACHA GARHI CAMP: Meanwhile, commissioner Sahibzada Mohammad Anis said on Wednesday that refugees would vacate the Kacha Garhi camp located near Peshawar.

According to a statement, the government will not give extension to the camp’s inhabitants. The camp is being evacuated in accordance with the decision of the tripartite commission, comprising Pakistan, Afghanistan and the UNHCR.