The representative of UNHCR stated that there were currently 1.3 million Afghan refugees living in Pakistan with registration cards issued by the Government. More than 600,000 Afghans have arrived in Pakistan since 2021.
According to official Pakistani government estimates, 600,000 Afghans seeking asylum have arrived in the country since the Taliban returned to power, UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) spokesman Qaiser Khan Afridi told Anadolu Agency on Wednesday.
Kaiser Khan Afridi, a spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), told Anadolu Agency on Wednesday that the Pakistani government officially estimated that 600,000 Afghan asylum seekers arrived in the country since the Taliban returned to power. Afridi said:
“In addition to the new arrival, Pakistan hosts 1.3 million Afghan refugees who are holding the Proof of Registration Cards issued by the government.”
Under the voluntary repatriation program facilitated by UNHCR, more than 16,000 Afghans have returned to Afghanistan over the past two years.
He also stated that Afghan refugees legally residing in the country whose refugee registration cards expired in June this year, they are in contact with local authorities to renew them. Prior to August 20, 2021, Pakistani authorities estimated that 500,000 to 600,000 Afghans lived in the country.
In 2017, the Pakistan government issued a one-time Afghanistan Citizen Card (ACC) to approximately 880,000 refugees which expired this year. Afridi said:
“UNHCR is in talks with Pakistani authorities about extending the registration cards of Afghan refugees.”
