KARACHI, Jan 15: The registration of Karachi’s Afghan refugee population with Nadra (National Database Registration Authority) is proving to be a more tedious exercise than either had imagined. With a few days to go before the registration process ends, the refugees are feeling alienated while government officials say it is a thankless task.

According to Naqibullah, a resident of Sohrab Goth’s populous Al Asif Square, who fled Afghanistan during the Soviet invasion, “I and my family members were called several times to the registration office but they failed to locate our names. I didn’t know whom to approach. Finally, when I kicked up a fuss; they found our names and issued Proof of Registration cards.”

This isn’t the only instance of names not being found in the registration centres set up by Nadra. There are many more Afghans whose future in this country hangs in balance if their names are not found in the database and the POR cards are not made.

“I know I will be forced to leave if the card is not made before the registration process ends,” laments an Afghan day labourer and a student living in Mohajir Camp on the outskirts of the city and who wishes to remain anonymous. He said: “Nadra officials call me several times, due to which my livelihood gets affected. I will leave Pakistan if my card is not made and the authorities force me to leave. I have no choice.”

A source at Nadra admits that there have been faults in the registration process that is based on a census of Afghan refugees conducted by UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, last year. He says that it is for the first time that a mass campaign to register 2.5 million refugees is being conducted and that Nadra officials are doing their best to accommodate everyone.

As far as not finding names is concerned, he feels that most people with this complaint had either not taken part in the census or had registered with fake names at that time. “This makes it extremely difficult to locate names in the database. Besides, most people have similar names and this too hampers the registration process,” he concedes.

This is of little comfort to people like 28-year-old Javed, who is employed by a local company. “My whole family took part in the census. Yet, when we came to register ourselves, our names could not be found on the database. Finally, they found the names of male members of our family, but they have been unable to find those of the women.”

Javed fears for his mother and sisters if their cards are not made before registrations close. He expects the government to understand that the women can’t go back without their families. But this may not be possible.

According to the Nadra official, “The government of Pakistan will send back everyone who does not have registration cards that legalises their stay in the country for three years.” According to Babar Baloch, UNHCR’s public information officer in Islamabad, a massive campaign was held to inform Afghans in the country about the registration process. Besides making frequent radio announcements, shura meetings were held and leaflets in Pashto and Dari were distributed among the refugee population.

A section of refugees refutes this, saying that the government did not make any special efforts to inform people about the process and that those living outside refugee settlements in Karachi were unaware of it. Many of the refugees who were interviewed were not aware of the registration deadline.

The recent rise in tensions between Kabul and Islamabad has worried Karachi’s Afghan population. “We feel alienated because of the lack of trust between the two governments,” says 22-year-old Naseer who fled Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover in the mid-nineties and who now lives in Sohrab Goth that hosts the bulk of Afghan refugees in the city.

“The Karzai regime must understand that Pakistan has done more than its share for us. Most of us have been living here for almost 30 years, but now we are worried because the Afghan refugee community stands to lose the most if relations between the two countries deteriorate. It has been five years since the Karzai government took power. But it has been unable to stabilise conditions enough to facilitate the return of its people.”

Despite the government assurances that it is committed to a voluntary repatriation, Afghan refugees fear a situation where they could be forced to return.

“Where do we go? Back home we don’t have food or shelter. We want to return to Afghanistan, it is our home. But we can’t close our eyes to the current situation. When the Soviets left the country, it fell prey to the warlords. For as long as I remember, Afghanistan has never seen peace. We were compelled to leave and now we’re compelled to stay. We have no choice,” says Naqibullah.