ISLAMABAD: A parliamentary committee on Friday recommended a review of the decision to wind up the Ministry of States and Frontier Regions (Safron) and stressed the importance of keeping it involved in all repatriation processes.

The Senate Standing Committee on States and Frontier Regions was of the view that the ministry was a major stakeholder and custodian of bilateral and international covenants on Afghan refugees.

These observations were made when the committee convened its inaugural session at the Parliament House under chairmanship of Senator Jan Mohammad Buledi. The meeting was attended by senators Syed Masroor Ahsan, Saeed Ahmed Hashmi and Dost Mohammad Khan, along with senior officials from the Safron ministry and the Afghan Refugees Commissionerate.

A statement issued here said the committee discussed the Safron ministry’s core responsibilities, including Afghan refugee governance, repatriation efforts and the administration of former princely states. The budget estimate for the fiscal year 2024-25 was reported to be Rs978.211 million.

The current demographic statistics of Afghan nationals in Pakistan were also reviewed, with approximately 2.9 million Afghans residing in the country. This population included 1.45 million refugees holding Proof of Registration (POR) cards and 814,000 Afghan nationals holding Afghan Citizen Cards (ACC).

The members were informed that 74pc of these refugees were under the age of 25.

The ministry emphasised its commitment to sustainable repatriation efforts in collaboration with the government of Afghanistan, UNHCR and international partners. Enhanced financial assistance for returnees was highlighted, with UNHCR currently providing $375 per returnee and $700 per returning family.

The meeting was informed that 90pc of POR card-holding Afghan refugees had repatriated voluntarily. However, international support for the ministry’s refugee management efforts had significantly decreased, with major funding from UNHCR now being channeled through international NGOs.

Senator Dost Mohammad Khan underscored the social, economic, financial and administrative challenges faced by the merged districts of ex-Fata. He stressed that the responsibility for addressing these multiplied issues lay with the federal government.

The committee was briefed that as of May 31, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) reported a total of 1,220,034 spontaneous returns of unregistered Afghan individuals. Additionally, UNHCR reported 4,434,231 registered Afghan refugees.

The committee commended Safron’s contributions to the documentation and repatriation efforts of Afghan refugees and cautioned against any hasty decision to disband the ministry, as members believed it could disrupt the smooth repatriation of refugees.

Published in Dawn, July 20th, 2024