November 19, 2006	Sunday	Shawwal 26, 1427

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LAHORE, Nov 18: Nearly 300,000 Afghans living in Pakistan have been registered, including around 50,000 in Punjab, till Saturday in an exercise to give them identification after decades in exile.

Afghan Refugees Commissioner in Islamabad Dr Imran Zeb, Nadra, Punjab, director-general, Colonel Muhammad Iqbal and United Nations High Commissioner assistant representative Indrika Ratwatte disclosed this while announcing wrapping up of the registration process in Lahore at a press conference here on Saturday.

They said the registration, which started on Oct 15 this year and was expected to continue till the end of the year, was aimed at providing four million Afghans who were counted in a census in March 2005 with a proof in the form of registration cards valid for three years for their recognition as Afghan citizens temporarily living in Pakistan.

They said that more than 6,100 Afghans had been registered in Lahore from Oct 15 to Nov 18. The number was 33 per cent of the estimated 18,500 Afghan’s living in the provincial capital. The turnout had remained low because some of the Afghans had moved to other parts of the country in search for a living and some had given wrong names during census which could not be found on database.

Registration, they said, had been concluded in Lahore on Saturday after registering nearly 3,000 families and issuing around 13,000 cards to members.

Afghan population in the provincial metropolis is very scattered but the commission has managed to mobilise it with the assistance of its partner agencies like Sharp, Caritas and the Commissionerate of Afghan Refugees.

They said the registration had ended in Lahore, but it was likely to continue in selected parts of the country till December 31. Within Punjab and the capital territory, the exercise was going on in Islamabad, Mianwali, Khushab, Mandi Bahauddin, Gujrat and would soon start in Chakwal, Gujranwala and Sialkot.

The registration of Afghan nationals was mandatory while those failing to get themselves registered would be considered illegal aliens and proceeded against the relevant provisions of law, they said.