KOHAT, Aug 24: The registration of Afghan refugees will begin in Kohat division and adjoining tribal areas from Sept 3 under the supervision of International Organization for Migration (IOM) to enlist voters for the first direct presidential elections in Afghanistan expected to be held on Oct 9.

A three-member team of IOM is in Kohat to assess the situation and distribute registration forms in the 53 refugee camps in the region. The registration process would begin in few days, Ibraheem Khattak, administrator for Afghan refugees told Dawn on Tuesday.

He informed that in all 19 polling booths would be established in Kohat division including Hangu and Orakzai Agency. In the 33 camps in the Kurram Agency where the population of refugees was less would be merged with other camps to reduce the number of polling booths and make them accessible for the Afghans.

He informed that the registration process would be completed by Oct 4 and the polling booths were expected to be established on Oct 6. He disclosed that according to his information registration process in South and North Waziristan Agencies and Dera Ismail Khan would not be possible keeping in view the security situation in these areas.

But efforts would be made to provide a chance to at least those refugees who were residing in D I Khan and enrol maximum number of Afghans. He said that the government was trying to provide maximum security to the IOM staff both in the settled as well as in the tribal areas.

He said that the four emergency camps established for the repatriation of Afghan refugees in Kurram Agency had seized to exist and there were now 33 regular camps there.

To a query he said he was not sure whether those Afghan refugees who had fraudulently obtained Pakistani national identity cards would turn up for registering themselves or not. It was quite possible that a small portion might go to Afghanistan to register themselves in their native town and villages to participate in the elections.