November 22, 2006	Wednesday	Shawwal 29, 1427

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MARDAN, Nov 21: Action is likely to be initiated against Afghan refugees who do not get themselves registered with the authorities concerned by the deadline of December 31.

Official sources told this correspondent here on Tuesday that Afghan refugees living in five camps in the Mardan and Swabi districts were the least willing to get registered. They said that if they continued to evade the process, strict action would be taken against them after the expiry of the deadline.

Three of the five camps, where some 200,000 refugees are living, are located in the Mardan district, while the other two are situated in Swabi. The camps in Mardan are Jalala, Baghicha and Kagan, while the two in Swabi are Barakai and Gandaf.

The sources said the Gandaf camp had 80,000 refugees, the Barakai camp 40,000, the Jalala camp 27,000, the Baghicha camp 18,000 and the Kagan camp 1,800, adding that 20,000 refugees were living outside these camps.

An official of the Afghan refugees' office said at least 12,000 Afghans out of a total of 200,000 had been registered at these camps.

They said that December 31 was the registration deadline for the refugees residing in Mardan.

However, the sources admitted that it would be impossible to register all refugees by the deadline so it was likely to be extended.