Over 2m listed, unlisted Afghans residing in Pakistan: Minister
IslamabadMinister for States and Frontier Regions (SAFRON), Engineer Shaukat Ullah said that 1.7 million registered and one million unregistered Afghan refugees are residing in Pakistan. The Minister was giving the briefing to the members of diplomatic community and humanitarian organization, to discuss the critical issue of support to Afghan refugees, host countries and Afghanistan. He said three hundred thousand whose registration cards have yet to be renewed and valid for by the end of this year 2012, says a press release here.
Most of these three million people continue to live in conditions which are below poverty levels in regions acknowledged as backward with severe economic constraints. In terms of international support, the maximum provided in 1981-82 was US$ 293.1 million for 3.2 million Afghan refugees. The Afghan refugees received considerable support from friendly countries including Saudi Arabia, USA, Germany, Japan, Italy, UAE in addition to assistance from UN Agencies, mainly, UNHCR and World Food Programme, WHO and UNICEF.
Yet now when we have almost the same number of Afghans in Pakistan, the estimated support is around US$ 11.4 million. If one keeps in view the rate of population growth among the Afghan refugees with 83 thousands people being added each year, the rising rate of inflation and cost of services, the fiscal space for accommodating this vulnerable group has diminished tremendously.
The current economic and security challenges have contributed to the pressure not only on Afghan refugees but also on the host communities, humanitarian organizations as well as governments. As a consequence, we are constrained to draw the international communitys attention to the old and increasingly serious issue of Afghan refugees at this stage.
In the recent past, we have witnessed major initiatives in relation to the situation in Afghanistan. These are expected to continue until there is stability in the region. With a major component of the Afghan population residing in neighboring countries, amicable solution of the Afghan refugees issue is crucial for stability in the region. This was acknowledged during the past year when the Governments of Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan gathered for the first time with the assistance of UNHCR to convene the International Stakeholders Conference which is now scheduled to be held in May, this year.
The Stakeholders Conference will be a unique opportunity for Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan to present to the world a comprehensive picture of the refugee issue as its effects this region and to present new and innovative solutions that require the support of the international community. The Stakeholders Conference will be proof of a global commitment to unify in order to tackle serious global issues such as the protracted refugee issue of this region, and Pakistan is eager and proud to be an integral part of this process.APP
Over 2m listed, unlisted Afghans residing in Pakistan: Minister