PESHAWAR, Dec 30: The areas in the NWFP and Fata which are hosting Afghan refugees require about $8 billion to rebuild their infrastructure there, senior officials said.

The NWFP and Fata still sheltered over 1.7 million refugees, a large number of whom were reluctant to go back to their country, officials in the Commissionerate for Afghan Refugees said.

"People as well as social services of these areas have suffered. They need a comprehensive rehabilitation plan," chief of the commissionerate, Jamshedul Hassan, said. He said that the commissionerate was preparing a 'post-repatriation' plan to rehabilitate the social and economic sector in these areas.

Under the programme, the commissionerate would assume the role of a rehabilitation authority, setting aside the role of a refugee-caring body. "We have refugee impacted areas rehabilitation programme, and the commissionerate will be converted into a rehabilitation authority," he said, adding that the commissionerate had the resources to implement the plan which had been discussed with various donor agencies as well.

He said that the commissionerate was waiting for a 'go ahead' from the federal government.