QUETTA: Balochistan Chief Minister Dr Abdul Malik Baloch on Friday demanded that the federal government not extend the stay of Afghan refugees staying in the province.

“I have written a letter to the federal government asking them not to extend the stay of Afghan refugees in the province,” said the chief minister.

Baloch was speaking to reporters following a session of the Balochistan assembly.

Read: BNP-M demands repatriation of Afghan refugees

The chief minister added that Afghan refugees must be respectfully repatriated back to their home country.

It is pertinent to mention that the voluntary repatriation of Afghan refugees is underway with the help provided by United Nation High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

However, parliamentary leader of the Awami National Party (ANP), Zamarak Khan Achakzai said that government needs to evolve a better mechanism for the repatriation of Afghan refugees.

The provincial assembly on the occasion also adopted various resolutions and demanded of the federal government to ensure construction of roads to Muslim Bagh, Harnai and other parts of the province.

“The federal government must include construction of roads to far-flung areas using the federal public sector development program (PSDP),” said legislator Syed Liaquat Agha.

The assembly also asked the federal government to approach Iran for relaxation of rules for traders from Balochistan, in order to boost economic activities between the two neighboring countries.

Since 2002, UNHCR has facilitated the return of 3.8 million registered Afghans from Pakistan. UNHCR has again urged the international community to increase their engagement for voluntary repatriation under the UNHCR assisted voluntary repatriation programme.

Also read: 550 Afghan refugees return home

After the Army Public School (APS) attack in December last year, the repatriation of Afghan refugees has spiked. Around 3,000 to 4,000 refugees left for Afghanistan each month from January to March this year; during the same time period in 2014 (January to March), a total of 761 refugees had left Pakistan for Afghanistan.

The most popular province of asylum for refugees is KP, with 52pc of refugees settling in both urban and rural areas of the province. Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) is the next popular option, followed by Punjab, with 25pc and 23pc of refugees settling in these regions, respectively.