PESHAWAR, May 18: The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) formally closed down on Saturday the Nasir Bagh refugee camp situated on the outskirts of Peshawar.

The head of the UNHCR sub-office, Alfredo Del Rio Court, Commissioner for Afghan Refugees Mushtaq Ahmad Alizai and other officials bade farewell to the last batch of the returnees, comprising some 500 families. The camp housed over 11,000 families.

The United Nations High Commission for Refugees officials said that over 40,000 refugees had returned from the Nasir Bagh camp to their homeland under the voluntary repatriation programme, while the remaining 30,000 refugees had been relocated to the New Shamshatoo camp near Peshawar and other camps in the province.