PESHAWAR, May 1: United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) has achieved the target of repatriating 400,000 Afghan refugees from Pakistan, Iran and Tajikistan during the last two months.

The UNHCR expects further increase in the number of returning refugees from Pakistan and other countries hosting 3.5 million registered refugees. “The number of these DPs can increase manifold if a new government is elected through the upcoming Loya Jirga likely to be held in Kabul in the first week of June,” said an official of the refugee agency.

Initially, the UNHCR had set a target of repatriating 400,000 refugees during the current year, which was achieved only in two months.

Sources in Commissionerate of Afghan Refugees (CAR), Peshawar, conceded that the NWFP government intended to serve notices on the inmates of Katcha Garhi and other refugees camps before June to vacate the sites by the end of the year.

An official said after evacuating Nasir Bagh camp in the outskirts of Peshawar, the provincial government will soon serve notices to the dwellers of the Katcha Garhi camp, which houses over 100,000 refugees.

A UNHCR press release issued here on Wednesday said that the target had been achieved and more than 370,000 refugees had returned to their homeland only from Pakistan since March 1, most of  the  refugees registered themselves at  the  voluntary repatriation centre set up in Takhta Baig, Khyber Agency. From Iran and Tajikistan some 30,000 Afghans have returned.

VISIT: Australian  minister  for immigration, multicultural and indigenous affairs Philip Ruddock and high commissioner  to  Pakistan Howard Brown  visited  voluntary repatriation centre at Takhta Baig, Khyber Agency and Nasir Bagh refugees camp, Peshawar on Wednesday. The minister and the high commissioner were briefed about the repatriation process at the voluntary repatriation centre and the assistance, being provided to the returnees.