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Pakistan in collaboration with the UN Refugee Agency on Tuesday started to issue new Proof of Registration cards to more than 1.6 million registered Afghan refugees that will allow them to stay legally until the end of 2015, officials said.
The card renewal is a result of continuous consultation between the governments of Afghanistan and Pakistan and UNHCR aimed at finding long-term solutions for Afghan refugees, which constitute the world's largest protracted refugee population in a single country, the UNHCR said.
Neill Wright, representative of UNHCR in Pakistan, expressed the hope that the renewal of the existing PoR cards will improve the protection of Afghan refugees and put a halt to reported instances of harassment faced by refugees while performing their daily tasks, including feeding their families, working and traveling freely in Pakistan.
Speaking at a launching ceremony in Haripur town some 65 km north of Islamabad,Wright said that the PoR card is an important identity document for Afghans, providing them with the legal right of stay in Pakistan and protection against detention and deportation.
"The PoR card extension decision came at a very crucial time. Given the upcoming presidential election in Afghanistan and the withdrawal of foreign troops this year, many refugees in Pakistan have been waiting to see what happens, so that they can take a decision about their return," he said.
In July 2013, the government of Pakistan announced the extension of an agreement with Afghanistan and UNHCR to extend the stay of the refugees until 2015.
Since 2002, more than 3.8 million Afghans have returned from Pakistan under the biggest facilitated voluntary return program. Returnees form a quarter ofAfghanistan's current population, while as many as 1.6 million registered Afghans remain in exile in Pakistan.
Pakistan's National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) has launched the project and the renewed PoR cards will be issued through 34 PoR card renewal centers across the country.
Pakistan's Chief Commissioner Afghan Refugees Imran Zeb speaking at the inaugural ceremony, reiterated Pakistan's firm commitment to continue extending hospitality to Afghan refugees until the end of December 2015.
"We believe the only solution for Afghan refugees lies within Afghanistan, for which we need more support from the international community for Afghanistan," he added.
