LANDI KOTAL, March 8: The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has started assisting around 67 Afghan families residing at the Shalman refugee camp in their return to Afghanistan and relocating other families to the Kotkai refugee camp in Bajaur Agency.

The return of 67 families, comprising over 400 individuals, who made a request in this regard on Sunday, was being taken place under the UNHCR voluntary repatriation programme. The programme, which has assisted over 1.9 million refugees in their repatriation since 2002, began its third year on March 3.

According to a UNHCR press release, 47 per cent out of 10,347 refugees of Shalman camp, situated about 25km north of Landi Kotal, wanted to return to their homeland. The camp was established in early 2002. The UNHCR has started a programme that will see the camp closed before the end of March.

Shalman was chosen as the first of the new camps to be closed, in what the UNHCR described, would be a continuing process. The camp was located in a hostile area where assistance was expensive and difficult to provide. Water was provided to the camp daily by tankers that would cost the UNHCR Rs500,000 every month.

Local residents had also objected to water supply to the refugee camp as it had affected water supply to the nearby localities. Early this year, the UNHCR had given two options of repatriation to Afghanistan or relocation to another refugee camp inside Pakistan to over 10,000 residents of Shalman camp. Around 53 per cent opted for relocation.

The press release said the UNHCR expected to continue the process of consolidating camps, which had shrunk in population during the voluntary repatriation programme that it had operated for the last two years. The Shalman camp was built two years back to accommodate up to 26,000 refugees, but now has a population of 10,347.

Talking to Dawn, refugees expressed happiness over returning to their homeland. "We want to play a role in rebuilding of our war-ravaged country," said Gul Rahim, a resident of Nangarhar.

Another refugee Saida Gul complained about dwindling funding for their repatriation and stressed upon the international community to provide more funds for their repatriation and rebuilding of Afghanistan.

A large number of refugees were seen gathered at a school since early morning for the IRIS test and provision of transportation charges. Many others were seen dismantling their mud houses in the camp.