The Afghan government has requested the Pakistan add four years extension to the 1.5 million registered Afghan refugees to legalise their stay till 2020.
The legal stay of the registered Afghans is to expire by the end of June. The government had yet to decide whether to accept or reject the Afghan’s government request, according to a government official.
The request for yet another extension from the Afghan government came at a time when relations between the two countries are uneasy because of mutual suspicions, especially border disputes and cross-border activities of the militant groups.
Pakistan, which is hosting more than three million documented and undocumented Afghan nationals, had been granting stay to the registered refugees since 2009 on the request of Afghanistan.
Another official said that Pakistan was ready to give an extension to registered refugees till 2017. He said that the offer was made during the tripartite commission meeting in Kabul that discussed draft strategy for the repatriation of refugees. The ministry for state and frontier region had prepared the strategy.
Legal stay of registered refugees had expired in December 2015 and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif while using his discretionary powers gave six months temporary extension to refugees in January.
Afghanistan and UNHCR favour that refugees should not be forced to return to their country and that the process should be completed through UN-sponsored voluntary repatriation programme. However, officials said that four to five families were returning under the voluntary repatriation plan on a daily basis. It would take decades to complete the process if it was left to voluntary repatriation, they added.
Officials said that prime minister was likely to extend the stay of the refugees for another six months by using his discretionary powers if the case was not referred to the cabinet for approval.
The government had adopted a tough policy regarding Afghan refugees under the 20-point National Action Plan after terrorist attack on Army Public School and College Peshawar on December 16, 2014.
It was decided that undocumented Afghan nationals would be registered by the end of 2015 and National Database and Registration Authority was tasked to conduct the exercise throughout the country.
The plan could not be executed apparently due to differences between Safron and Interior Ministry. In the meantime, the government authorised law enforcers to start crackdown against undocumented Afghan nationals and deport them to their country after completing legal formalities. Thousands of Afghans had been arrested under the NAP.