12.2007 - Source: UN High Commissioner for Refugees

Relationship between Pakistan and Afghanistan tense and marked by increased concerns over cross border insurgency operations and terrorism; a joint Peace Jirga which took place in August 2007 in Kabul addressed these problems ("UNHCR's Eligibility Guidelines for Assessing the International Protection Needs of Afghan Asylum-Seekers") [ID 22029]

"Regionally, the relationship between Pakistan and Afghanistan has been affected by security considerations with Afghanistan increasingly concerned with ongoing cross-border insurgency operations. Afghanistan has, on several occasions, called upon Pakistan to address the issue. For its part, Pakistan proclaimed its intention to fence the border, a decision which resulted in renewed criticism from Afghanistan. The large presence of Afghans in Pakistan have at various times been associated with insecurity in both countries.

In an effort to defuse tension between the two countries, in particular surrounding cross-border issues, President Karzai and President Musharraf agreed during summits in Washington DC in September 2006 and Ankara in April 2007, to prioritize efforts to tackle the insurgency and terrorism including through the establishment of a Regional Peace Jirga – gatherings of tribal and community leaders. The four-day Afghan – Pakistan Peace Jirga that took place in August in Kabul accordingly identified the need to jointly address a wide range of common issues beginning with terrorism. On this occasion, President Musharraf acknowledged the support of Taliban activities inside Afghanistan provided from parts of the border regions of Pakistan. Jirga participants focused on the need to pursue regional stability. The implementation and monitoring of the commitment contained in the declaration following the Peace Jirga will be the responsibility of a permanent 50-member Joint Peace Jirga Commission that will meet every two months."

Document(s): Open document

12.2007 - Source: UN High Commissioner for Refugees

Tripartite Agreement between Pakistan, Afghanistan and UNHCR extended until 31 December 2009 ("UNHCR's Eligibility Guidelines for Assessing the International Protection Needs of Afghan Asylum-Seekers") [ID 22926]

"The renewal of the Tripartite Agreement between UNHCR, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and Islamic Republic of Afghanistan has been agreed until 31 December 2009."

Document(s): Open document

11.2007 - Source: Austrian Centre for Country of Origin and Asylum Research and Documentation

Afghan economic migrants and illegal refugees used for political purposes ("11th European Country of Origin Information Seminar; Vienna, 21 - 22 June 2007; Country Report; Afghanistan") [ID 21872]

"With terrorist attacks in the UK linked to Pakistan and the resurgence of the Taliban in Afghanistan from the summer of 2005, far more international focus is now apparent on Pakistan and increasingly Iran. In both countries Afghan economic migrants and illegal refugees risk being used for political ends by both governments. It is also salutary that the forced repatriation of Afghans from Iran was rapidly utilised by powerful and conservative Afghan parliamentarians to call for the dismissal of the reformist Minister of Foreign Affairs, Rangin Dadfar Spanta."

Document(s): Open document

01.08.2007 - Source: ReliefWeb

Pakistan plans to close all refugee camps by the end of 2009 and announces that all refugees living in the country will be repatriated to Afghanistan ("Pakistan to close all refugee camps by 2009"), Autor: Frontier Post [ID 20694]

Document(s): Open document

08.07.2007 - Source: Inter Press Service - News Agency

Heavy rains have forced the UNHCR to suspend repatriation operations from Pakistan to Afghanistan; Pakistan’s frontier police has announced intensification of efforts to send back Afghans without registration cards ("Afghan Refugees Forcibly Herded Home - Activists") [ID 20691]

Document(s): Open document

13.02.2007 - Source: ReliefWeb

To root out Taliban, Pakistan to expel 2.4 million Afghans ("To root out Taliban, Pakistan to expel 2.4 million Afghans"), Autor: The Christian Science Monitor [ID 18792]

Document(s): Open document

28.10.2005 - Source: Institute for War and Peace Reporting

Afghan refugees forcibly repatriated from refugee camps in Pakistan and Iran ("Afghans Go Home, Not Always Willingly") [#38449],  [ID 2456]

Document(s): Open document

05.08.2005 - Source: ReliefWeb

Pakistan will shut down all Afghan refugee camps in country's tribal region bordering Afghanistan due to security reasons; approximately 105,000 refugees will be sent back to Afghanistan ("Pakistan to close Afghan refugee camps in tribal region (DPA)") [#35021],  [ID 2457]

Document(s): Open document

20.08.2004 - Source: Institute for War and Peace Reporting

The majority of the refugees, forced by the Pakistani government to flee four camps in Southern Waziristan, ended up in the dangerous southern Afghan province of Paktika, beyond the reach of relief agencies ("Little Aid for Refugees Forced Out of Pakistan") [#24918],  [ID 2458]

Document(s): Open document

12.07.2004 - Source: ReliefWeb

South Waziristan: Afghan refugees moving out of the region to meet a three-day deadline as security forces again clashed with suspected terrorists ("Afghan refugees leaving South Waziristan amid renewed clashes (DPA)") [#24018],  [ID 2459]

Document(s): Open document

14.06.2004 - Source: Integrated Regional Information Network

Afghan refugees in South Waziristan, the area which is the scene of a full-scale offensive by the Pakistani army, are being offered assistance and the choice to repatriate to their country ("UNHCR to help Afghans wishing to leave South Waziristan") [#23283],  [ID 2460]

Document(s): Open document

13.06.2004 - Source: ReliefWeb

South Waziristan: scores of Afghan refugees were leaving Pakistan's tribal region after the government gave them 72 hours to depart ("Afghan refugees start leaving embattled South Waziristan (DPA)") [#23313],  [ID 2461]

Document(s): Open document

07.06.2004 - Source: ReliefWeb

UNHCR has suspended repatriation of Afghan refugees in Quetta, capital of Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan province, for security reasons ("UNHCR suspends repatriation of Afghan refugees in Pakistan (Xinhua)") [#23219],  [ID 2462]

Document(s): Open document

04.05.2004 - Source: Integrated Regional Information Network

35,000 Afghan refugees living in informal settlements or “kachi abadis” in Islamabad, have been asked to leave and relocate to refugee camps situated in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) because of security concerns ("Afghan refugees asked to leave capital") [#21853],  [ID 2463]

Document(s): Open document

01.04.2004 - Source: Institute for War and Peace Reporting

More than a million displaced people still prefer life in Pakistan’s makeshift camps to the uncertain security situation back home ("Refugees Still Reluctant to Return") [#20944],  [ID 2464]

"[...]
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, UNHCR, expects to assist some 400,000 refugees in Pakistan to return to Afghanistan by providing each with a travel grant, food and other items when they arrive in their homeland.

Overall, some three million Afghans have returned home from Pakistan, Iran, the Central Asian republics and other parts of the world. But of late, the number of those returning has slowed dramatically and a further 1.1 million have chosen to stay in 200 refugee camps across Pakistan.
[...]
Redden said that returning refugees must be satisfied with the state of security in their homeland - and for now this remains uneven at best. “Economic development - providing the jobs necessary to sustain returning refugees - is a main requirement for repatriation and reintegration of the Afghans now living outside the borders,” he added.

Over the past year, aid agencies have been the targets of sporadic attacks often blamed on Afghanistan’s former hard-line Islamist Taleban rulers. Last November, UNHCR suspended operations following the murder of staff member Bettina Goislard in the eastern Afghan city of Ghanzi.
[...]"

Document(s): Open document

23.03.2004 - Source: UN High Commissioner for Refugees

UNHCR closed Shalman camp for Afghan refugees in Pakistan's North West Frontier Province after the camp's last inhabitants left for home ("UNHCR closes first Afghan-Pakistan border camp this year") [#20667],  [ID 2465]

"The UN refugee agency's Afghan operation has taken another step forward with the closure of a camp in Pakistan and a new donation towards its under-funded programme for this year.

Over the weekend, UNHCR closed Shalman camp for Afghan refugees in Pakistan's North West Frontier Province after the camp's last inhabitants left for home with assistance from the refugee agency.

The last group of 148 Afghans were repatriated on Sunday, joining some 4,000 others who had headed homewards before them in recent weeks. A separate group of 4,800 who did not wish to go back to Afghanistan had earlier been relocated to Kotkai camp in Pakistan.
[...]"

Document(s): Open document

09.03.2004 - Source: ReliefWeb

UNHCR began relocating refugees from a remote camp near the Khyber Pass that is slated for closure under a plan to help all residents of the two-year-old Shalman Camp return to Afghanistan or move to another refugee camp ("UNHCR resume repatriation from Pakistan to Afghanistan (UNHCR)") [#20135],  [ID 2466]

"UNHCR today began relocating refugees from a remote camp near the Khyber Pass that is slated for closure this month under a plan to help all residents of the two-year-old Shalman Camp return to Afghanistan or move to another refugee camp. The convoy of 402 refugees snaked its way through the mountains towards Kotkai Camp, in a more hospitable region further north. The relocation comes two days after a group of 416 camp residents returned to Afghanistan. UNHCR resumed assisting refugees return from Pakistan on 1 March. The decision to resume repatriation came after UNHCR took additional security precautions for its staff and received assurances from the governments of both Afghanistan and Pakistan that they are combating militants who have targeted aid workers, including UNHCR's Bettina Goislard who was killed in the Afghan city of Ghazni last November"

Document(s): Open document

09.03.2004 - Source: UN High Commissioner for Refugees

Shalman refugee camp closes down; residents start leaving either for home in Afghanistan or for the nearby Kotkai camp ("Twilight for remote Pakistan camp as refugees move out") [#20194],  [ID 2467]

"Efforts are underway to close Shalman refugee camp near Pakistan's Khyber Pass as its residents start leaving either for home in Afghanistan or for another camp nearby.

On Tuesday, the first relocation convoy carrying 402 Afghan refugees from Shalman camp snaked its way through the mountains of the Khyber Agency and on to Kotkai camp, in a more hospitable region further north."

Document(s): Open document

13.02.2004 - Source: ReliefWeb

North West Frontier province: UN Refugee Agency is to close the Shalman Afghan refugee camp on the Pak-Afghan border, hosting about 10,000 Afghan refugees ("UNHCR to close Afghan refugee camp on Pak-Afghan border (Xinhua)") [#19321],  [ID 2468]

"[...]
Shalman, which is located near the Khyber Pass in Pakistan's North West Frontier province, now holds about 10,000 Afghan refugees. The UN Refugee Agency made the decision to close the camp since the provision of humanitarian assistance has become more and more difficult and expensive.

A survey made by the UNHCR in January showed that nearly half of those living in the camp would like to return to Afghanistan when the camp closes in March, while the rest of the residents would prefer the option of relocating to another refugee camp at Kotkai in the North West Frontier province.
[...]"

Document(s): Open document

12.12.2003 - Source: Integrated Regional Information Network

North West Frontier Province: just over 10,000 Afghan refugees sheltered in Shalman Camp in the Khyber Agency, are to be offered a choice between repatriation and or relocation to another camp in Pakistan by March ("UNHCR to move Afghan refugees from camp by March") [#18183],  [ID 2469]

"Just over 10,000 Afghan refugees sheltered in a remote refugee camp in the Khyber Agency, about 70 km from Peshawar, the capital of the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), are to be offered a choice between repatriation and or relocation to another camp in Pakistan by March, according to an official of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) official.

"The decision to either repatriate or relocate the people in Shalman Camp has been under discussion for several months with both the refugees and the government of Pakistan," Jack Redden, a UNHCR spokesman, told IRIN in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, on Friday.
[...]"

Document(s): Open document

02.10.2003 - Source: Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children

Baluchistan and Punjab provinces of Pakistan: isolated efforts to improve the quantity and quality of reproductive health care for Afghan refugees in Pakistan; many programs are limited to traditional maternal and child health care services ("Still in need: Reproductive health care for Afghan refugees in Pakistan") [#16540],  [ID 2470]

Document(s): Open document

28.08.2003 - Source: ReliefWeb

Gradual consolidation and closure of Afghan refugee camps near Pakistan's border / help sustain returns by focusing aid in the refugees' communities back in Afghanistan ("Afghan, Pakistani governments agree to gradually close border camps (UNHCR)") [#15576],  [ID 2471]

Document(s): Open document

04.07.2003 - Source: UN High Commissioner for Refugees

UNHCR relocated 3,651 Afghans to new sites inside Pakistan and Afghanistan, trying to empty the "waiting area" just inside Pakistan’s border ("UNHCR moves 3,600 Afghan refugees from makeshift border camp") [#14214],  [ID 2472]

Document(s): Open document

25.06.2003 - Source: ReliefWeb

About 20,000 Afghans, who have been living in the "waiting area" strip close to the Chaman border crossing, will be shifted to other areas as UNHCR closes the camp for security reasons ("UNHCR closes 'unsafe' Afghan refugee camp in Pakistan (AFP)") [#13796],  [ID 2473]

Document(s): Open document

20.05.2003 - Source: UN High Commissioner for Refugees

Makeshift encampment in Chaman on the Afghan-Pakistani border is set to close by the end of July; refugees will either be repatriated to Afghanistan or relocated to Mohammad Kheil refugee camp inside Pakistan's Balochistan province ("Makeshift Afghan border camp set to close; residents face return or relocation") [#12862],  [ID 2474]

Document(s): Open document

07.05.2003 - Source: Integrated Regional Information Network

The deadline for thousands of Afghan refugees to leave Kacha Garhi camp in Pakistan’s North West Frontier Province (NWFP), extended for another year to 30 March 2004 ("Pakistan: Deadline for Afghan refugees in Kacha Garhi extended") [#12616],  [ID 2475]

Document(s): Open document

06.05.2003 - Source: ReliefWeb

Pakistan: large number of Afghan refugees and citizens arrested by security forces ("Afghanistan expresses concern over reported refugee arrests in Pakistan (AFP)") [#12394],  [ID 2476]

Document(s): Open document

06.01.2003 - Source: UN High Commissioner for Refugees

UNHCR: About 30.000 people insist on staying in border region of Spin Boldak and Chaman at the end of 2002 ("UNHCR Afghanistan Information Bulletin December 2002") [#10329],  [ID 2477]

"Another problem in the south is the displacement near the border towns of Spin Boldak on the Afghan side and near Chaman in Pakistan. In response to both governments’ concerns about security at the border, UNHCR has agreed to relocate the displaced families to a new temporary settlement in Zhare Dasht, west of Kandahar, where they can be better assisted. Since the relocation began in August, nearly 5,000 families have voluntarily moved to this temporary site, but there are still some 30,000 people who insist on staying near the border because of better job opportunities in the area."

Document(s): Open document
Open document

14.12.2002 - Source: ReliefWeb

Bitter cold spell left 40 Afghan children dead and more than 1,000 refugees in dire conditions in camps along the border with Pakistan ("Forty Afghan children die of cold in border camps: relief workers (AFP)") [#9970],  [ID 2478]

Document(s): Open document

27.08.2002 - Source: Médecins Sans Frontières

Relocation of refugees in waiting area at border of Pakistan ("Relocation back to Afghanistan starts for Afghan refugees in Pakistan") [#31042],  [ID 2480]

"On August 8, the first 102 families from the so-called 'Waiting Area' in Chaman, Pakistan were relocated by the UNHCR to a new settlement area called 'Zhare Dasht' (Yellow Desert), 30 kilometres west of Kandahar in Afghanistan. The UNHCR also intends to move the population of the five camps around Spin Boldak, on the Afghan side of the border. Intense political pressure by Afghanistan and Pakistan on the UNHCR has lead to this relocation plan for almost 60,000 Afghans.

These people are Pashtuns from the north and west of Afghanistan fleeing ethnic persecution, and Kutchis - Afghan nomads - from the south who are fleeing the drought. They have been given the choice to be either relocated to Zhare Dasht or to return to their place of origin.

What will happen to those who choose to stay remains unclear.

MSF has stated that people from the 'Waiting Area' have the right to seek asylum and should be allowed to be registered and transferred to the official refugee camps in Pakistan. The organization has also advocated for ongoing humanitarian assistance to those who choose to stay.

However as MSF has been working alongside this population since October 2001, the organization is committed to them and will continue to work for this population in Zhare Dasht.[...]"

Document(s): Open document

09.08.2002 - Source: UN High Commissioner for Refugees

UNHCR: Solution in sight for stranded Afghans ("Afghanistan Humanitarian Update No. 64") [#8581],  [ID 2482]

"Last week, UNHCR took 80 representatives of the more than 25,000 Afghans stranded just inside Pakistan's border at Chaman to see a new temporary camp being set up west of Kandahar.
Following this go-and-see visit, representatives of about 400 families displaced from Jozjan Province in northern Afghanistan said they wanted to move immediately to Zhare Dasht. They said they felt that since they do not yet feel ready to go home, they hope to receive better assistance at Zhare Dasht.
Thousands of Afghans became stuck last February in a makeshift encampment just inside Pakistan's frontier at Chaman when the government refused permission for UNHCR to move them to its camps in the border belt.
UNHCR plans to begin the voluntary relocation of the Afghans at Chaman and from the four IDP (internally displaced persons) camps around Spin Boldak over the coming weeks. Other Afghans said they still hoped for stability in the north, where people have reported harassment during recent months against ethnic Pashtuns. But they are considering moving to Zhare Dasht if the situation does not improve in the near future.
There are some 30,000 IDPs at Spin Boldak living in appalling conditions, and several aid agencies have withdrawn from the area.
UNHCR will continue to assist those Afghans who wish to return to their villages with transportation and returnee packages. People who do not feel safe enough to return will be voluntarily relocated to Zhare Dasht, an operation that has been requested by the governments of both Afghanistan and Pakistan."

Document(s): Open document

25.07.2002 - Source: Amnesty International

AI: Police harassment of Afghan refugees in Pakistan continues ("Continuing need for Protection and Standards for Return of Afghan refugees") [#8004],  [ID 2483]

"Recent reports indicate, for example, that, in Pakistan, police harassment of Afghan refugees, which had begun before 11 September 2001, continues. In early May 2002, up to 1000 Afghan refugees were apparently arbitrarily detained following the killing of two policemen in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. Ramatullah Moosaghazi, charge d'affaires at the Afghan embassy in Islamabad said, "[e]very day I receive complaints from Afghans...that they are facing problems and relatives or friends have been arrested by police." In one incident, Mohammad Jan, aged 85, was reportedly beaten by police when he went to find out about his son, one of those detained and another man, Mohammad Anwar, and was ordered to pay police or face imprisonment."

Document(s): Open document

25.07.2002 - Source: Amnesty International

AI: Tens of thousands of Afghan refugees stranded at the border with Pakistan since February 2002 ("Continuing need for Protection and Standards for Return of Afghan refugees") [#8004],  [ID 2484]

"Even as refugees have been returning to Afghanistan, tens of thousands have been seeking safety and assistance in Pakistan and in camps for internally displaced persons inside Afghanistan. Since late February 2002, tens of thousands of Afghan refugees have been stranded at Chaman, a ‘no man’s land’ between the border of southern Pakistan and Afghanistan, where the Pakistan authorities have refused to allow them to proceed further into Pakistan or to be registered as refugees by UNHCR, which would then be able to arrange for the provision of regular food, shelter and medical care. UNHCR reports that many of these refugees are ethnic Pashtuns from northern Afghanistan and that many of them cite human rights abuses as their reason for fleeing their homes. Those waiting in this area have not received regular and adequate food assistance or shelter and 13.6 percent were reported as being malnourished."

Document(s): Open document

23.07.2002 - Source: Human Rights Watch

HRW: Concern about increasing harassment of Afghan refugees in Pakistan ("Afghanistan Unsafe for Refugee Returns/ U.N. Refugee Agency Sending "Misleading" Message") [#7932],  [ID 2485]

"Human Rights Watch is also concerned that increasing harassment, arbitrary arrests and detention in Pakistan, combined with lack of assistance for Afghans, could be pushing refugees to return and undermining the voluntariness of their decisions."

Document(s): Open document

06.06.2002 - Source: ReliefWeb

Reliefweb/dpa: Harassment, blackmail and detention of returning Afghan refugees in Pakistan ("Police harassment of Afghan refugees continues in wake of killings (DPA)") [#7385],  [ID 2486]

"Thousands of Afghan refugees are being harassed, forced to pay bribes and in many cases jailed as they try to return home from camps in neighbouring Pakistan under a United Nations-sponsored repatriation program, a U.N. official said Thursday. ``A lot of the men are stopped and they are arrested for a few hours, some for a few days,'' said Ek Ragnhild of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees. ``They are even stopped as they are going to the buses which are bringing them here, carrying them home. We're told that they're stopped, they're asked for ID and they have to bribe their way out.'' While paying Pakistani police protection money is a common occurrence for Afghan refugees, the recent upswing appears connected to the murder two weeks ago of two policemen in Rawalpindi. At least 600 Afghans were arrested immediately following the killings and threatened with deportation, Ragnhild said. While estimates of the total number of Afghans who have been jailed range from several hundred to roughly 6,000, ``the most reliable figure'' is about 1,700, she said."

Document(s): Open document

23.05.2002 - Source: ReliefWeb

Reliefweb/AFP: Voluntary repatriation from Pakistan; many refugees wait for outcome of Loya Jirgah ("4,000 Afghan refugees leave southern Pakistan for home (AFP)") [#7020],  [ID 2487]

"A convoy of about 38 buses and trucks carrying 4,000 refugees left here Thursday for Afghanistan as part of a voluntary repatriation process, a spokesman for the UN refugee agency said.
The number of Afghan refugees repatriated from Pakistan's southern Sindh province has reached 52,000 since April, Melita Sunjic, spokeswoman for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), told AFP. Some 600,000 Afghan refugees are believed to have settled in Sindh, but many are waiting to see how the situation develops before heading back to their troubled homeland, she said. "They are reluctant to go back home before the Loya Jirga is held, which is supposed to bring in political stability in Afghanistan, but some of them are voluntarily opting to go home," she said."

Document(s): Open document