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"Jirga" starts in Pakistan to discuss Afghan refugee issue

Xinhua, July 20, 2016 Adjust font size:

A "jirga" or assembly kicked off here Wednesday to discuss the fate of millions of Afghan refugees in Pakistan.

Visiting Afghan Minister of Refugees and Repatriation Sayed Hossein Alimi Balkhi is attending the meeting to explain government policies on the repatriation of the refugees.

Pakistan is hosting nearly three million Afghan refugees, including about one million unregistered.

As a sigh of relief for the refugees, Pakistan has extended for six more months the duration of the Proof of Registration or PoR cards that allow them to stay legally in the country.

Pakistan's Ministry of States and Frontier Region, which also deals with the Afghan refugees, had proposed the "Jirga," facilitating the refugees to get to know relevant polices, according to an official.

Representatives of the refugees have been invited to take part in the event.

"The refugees will also have the opportunity to share their problems in Pakistan with the minister," an Afghan Embassy official said.

The Afghan minister is in Pakistan to represent the country in a tripartite meeting of Pakistan, Afghanistan and the UNHCR.

At the meeting, the three sides underlined their commitment to empower Afghan refugees in Pakistan and to pro-actively work towards their voluntary repatriation and sustainable reintegration in Afghanistan. Endit