PESHAWAR, July 14: The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) and the federal government are holding consultations to chalk out an effective plan for the repatriation of Afghan refugees.

“We have a target to repatriate about one million displaced people under the voluntary repatriation programme next year,” an official said, adding the success of the plan depended upon the internal stability in Afghanistan.

The officials of the Ministry of State and Frontier Region, Afghan Commissionerate and representatives of the UN refugee agency met in Bhurben (Murree) last week to evaluate the progress made under the ongoing voluntary repatriation programme and formulate a plan for the next year.

Over one million refugees and displaced people had returned to their homeland from Pakistan during the last four months. The UN refugee agency said so far over 1,200,000 Afghans had returned to their country, including 760,000 from NWFP and Fata.

Initially, the UNHCR had estimated that some 400,000 Afghans would return under the voluntary repatriation programme. But in the first three months over half a million refugees returned and the UNHCR had to revise its original plan.

Sources said the refugee agency had cut down two million dollars in the head of the repatriation and diverted the amount to health, education and community planning of the refugees in Pakistan. The agency also reduced repatriation via Nawa Pass, Bajaur Agency to two days from five days a week — Tuesday and Wednesday — due to decrease in the number of returnees from the tribal area.