ISLAMABAD, Oct 10: The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has planned to temporarily suspend repatriations of Afghan refugees during Eid holidays.

The voluntary repatriation programme from Pakistan will remain suspended for five days, from Oct 12 to Oct 16, 2007, a spokesman of the refugees’ agency told this reporter. Afghans returning home from Pakistan under the UN refugee agency’s voluntary repatriation programme have been informed not to contact the UNHCR centres dealing with repatriation programme and the encashment centres inside Afghanistan – where returning Afghans receive assistance – during Eid holidays.

UNHCR Voluntary Repatriation Centres and the encashment centres will re-open on Wednesday, Oct 17, 2007, to assist Afghan people opting to return to Afghanistan with UNHCR assistance.

The agency has also informed returning Afghans that the Voluntary Repatriation season for 2007 will end on Oct 31, 2007, for the yearly winter break. It will then resume in March 2008, the UNHCR spokesman added.