PESHAWAR, July 1: A dozen Afghan refugee camps were wound up in the North Waziristan by the UN’s agency UNHCR under its voluntary repatriation scheme. A month ago, the government of Pakistan had announced to close down all Afghan refugee camps in this Fata area by the end of June. There were about 32,000 Afghans living in 12 camps in the agency bordering Afghanistan, said an UNHCR spokesman.

Nearly, 60,000 Afghans, including those outside the camps, lived in the North Waziristan. Those willing to go to their homeland received monitory assistance under the voluntary repatriation programme of the UNHCR.

The UNHCR spokesman said that it supported closing of these camps because of the security concerns. The area had been the scene of continuing clashes between the Pakistan army and rebel tribesmen involved in fighting in Afghanistan.

14 families were registered on the last scheduled day for repatriation, bringing the total number of families of 27,537 individuals who obtained the voluntary repatriation forms to 4,539. The forms are needed to receive assistance on arrival in Afghanistan.

Despite closure of all these camps, the UNHCR staff remained at the centre on Friday morning to cater for stragglers, if any. The deadline to cross the border directly from North Waziristan was July 1, 2005.

According to the procedure, those returning from Pakistan would undergo an iris recognition test at Khost, a city of Afghanistan, to ensure that any of them had not received such assistance before.

Some 12,00 Afghan families who had earlier shown willingness to be relocated to another existing camp had also decided to repatriate, the UNHCR spokesman said.

A local resident who confirmed closure of refugee camps told Dawn on phone that main camps at Darpakhel Danday, Maches, Speenwam, Mir Ali and Dutta Khel were closed down completely.

He said that those who had businesses in Pakistan or had married with girls of local families did not opt for repatriation while those who felt unsafe in the agency voluntarily repatriated.

“Those who left Pakistan were of the view that they would return for work if the situation was worse in Afghanistan “, a local elder of the agency said.

The UNHCR spokesman said that 85 per cent population of the camps chose to return to Afghanistan rather than to relocate elsewhere.

The returning Afghan refugees can receive a travel grant ranging from $3 to $30 each plus a $12 per capita grant to re-establish in Afghanistan. The money is paid to the holders of voluntary repatriation forms on arrival at UNHCR encashment centres in Afghanistan.

Two camps in Balochistan province will also be closed down—-the Jungle Pir Aliza camp by the end of July and Girdi Jungle camp by the end of August. The government has announced to close remaining camps in Fata by August 30, 2005, said the UNHCR spokesman.