KARACHI, Jan 15: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has said that Pakistan wants repatriation of all Afghan refugees to their country. The repatriation from one or two camps would start very soon, said Mr Aziz while addressing a hurriedly-called press conference at the Governor’s House here on Monday, soon after arriving here from Islamabad.

Reaffirming Pakistan’s desire for a peaceful and stable Afghanistan, he referred to the porous nature of the long border with Afghanistan and said that the elements not interested in peace and stability of the two countries might have found safe haven in some of the refugee camps. Therefore, he said, once the refugee camps were closed, such sanctuaries would also be eliminated.

He said Afghan President Hamid Karzai had agreed to this proposition. Negotiations with the UNHCR were also in progress, he added.

With regard to fencing and selective mining of the border with Afghanistan, the prime minister said the government was looking into various options and wanted to open crossing points to facilitate movement of people on either side of the border in a regulated manner.

In the context of easement rights, he referred to bio-metrics system introduced at the Chaman border with Afghanistan. He said the scope of the system would be expanded with the passage of time.

Dispelling the impression that the reduction in petrol and diesel prices was linked with the government’s election strategy, he emphasised that the decision was aimed at providing relief to the common man.