PESHAWAR, Feb 8: While the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has announced resuming voluntary repatriation of Afghan refugees from Pakistan in early March, the government has asked over 88,000 registered refugees to vacate the Jalozai camp in Nowshera next month.

Afghan Refugees Commissioner Nasir Azam said on Friday that inhabitants of the Jalozai camp had been directed to vacate the camp by the end of March. He said elders of the camp had given an undertaking to the government last year and they were bound to leave the site.

In the first phase, he said, refugees belonging to eastern Nangarhar province and other areas adjacent to the Pakistan border would be repatriated from the Jalozai camp. In the second phase, he said, refugees hailing from northern parts of Afghanistan would be sent back to their homeland under the voluntary repatriation programme.

The government had planned to abolish the Jalozai camp, 30 kilometres east of Peshawar, in August 2007, but inhabitants of the camp had refused to leave the site due to security problem and lack of shelter in Afghanistan. Later, they were given extension till March 2008.

The UN refuge agency said on Friday voluntary repatriation of registered Afghans with Proof of Registration cards in Pakistan would resume in early March after the winter break. The government registered over two million Afghans last year and issued them PoR cards to legalise their stay in the country for next three years.

The UNHCR had established voluntary repatriation centres in Peshawar and Quetta and registered Afghans willing to go back to their country could approach the centres, said a press release.

Each registered Afghan returning to his country will get an average of $100 as transport and reintegration grant.

About 350,000 registered and unregistered Afghans went back to their country from Pakistan last year under the voluntary repatriation plan.

Officials said apart from the Jalozai camp, 11 other camps had been identified in Hangu and Kohat districts that would be closed down. In this connection, they said, the authorities of respective districts had been directed to get prepared for closing the camps.

They said there would be no forced repatriation and those Afghans who possessed PoR cards would be relocated to Upper Dir and Chitral districts if they were not willing to go back to their country.