PESHAWAR, Nov 2: The United Nations High Commission for Refugees has estimated that some 65,000 displaced Afghans have entered the Frontier province through illegal routes since Sept 11, taking shelter in various old refugee camps.
Speaking at a press conference here on Friday, head of UNHCR’s emergency team at Peshawar, Jacques Franquin said that despite the closure of the border displaced people were pouring into Pakistan in large numbers, adding that around 5,000 Afghans had reportedly crossed into Peshawar only on Wednesday last.
Replying to a question, he said the Pakistan government did not agree to open border for the displaced people, who were in search of shelter. He said the UNHCR chief, Rud Lubbers, during his recent visit had asked President Gen Pervez Musharaf to open borders allowing entry to Afghans fleeing US airstrikes.
“But the commissioner received a very cool response from the President Musharraf,” said Franquin while expressing dissatisfaction with the outcome of the recent meeting between Rud Lubbers and President Musharraf.
Explaining the mechanism the UNHCR adopted for identifying the new arrivals, he said that the figure of 65,000 new arrivals since Sept 11 had been arrived at on the basis of data the UNHCR teams collected from old refugee camps, conducted interviews of old refugees, visited basic health units and bakeries to identify the new refugees.
He said the newly-arrived refugees were either staying in the old camps or in urban areas where they had relatives or had found private accommodation. The Pakistan government, he said, was still reluctant to give refugee status to the new arrivals and deported them when they were caught in the border areas.
Mr Franquin said the UNHCR was seeking guarantees from the government not to deport those displaced people who had entered Peshawar. However, the government did not give firm assurance in this regard, he said.
He said most of the new arrivals in Peshawar were seeking assistance from the UNHCR, specially the destitute and others who did not have the means for survival.
About the establishment of new camps, the UNHCR emergency team head said that a new camp would be set up at Kotkai, Bajour Agency, near the Pakistan-Afghan border.