IRIN
PAKISTAN: UNHCR ready for Afghan camp closures
14 June 2007


ISLAMABAD, 14 June 2007 (IRIN) - Plans are in place to help thousands of 
Afghan refugees living in two Pakistan camps, due to close this week, to 
relocate, the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said.

"UNHCR has established special information centres in and around the 
camps to provide Afghans with information on their options to relocate 
or voluntarily repatriate," Babar Baloch, a spokesman for UNHCR, told 
IRIN in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, on 14 June.

"Together with the Government of Pakistan's Commission for Afghan 
Refugees' provincial offices, UNHCR is ready to receive Afghans who opt 
for the relocation option," Baloch said.

His comments come on the eve of the closures of the camps in western 
Pakistan that house more than 80,000 Afghans, many of whom have lived in 
the country since the 1979 Soviet invasion of their homeland.

Established in the 1980s, the Kacha Gari refugee camp in Pakistan's 
North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and the Jungle Pir Alizai refugee 
camp in southwestern Balochistan province, 62km west of the provincial 
capital Quetta, are to close on 15 June.

Two other camps, Jalozai in NWFP and Girdi Jungle in Balochistan, are 
scheduled to close on 15 August.

Pakistan decided to close all four camps this year after claims they 
harboured criminal elements and cross-border insurgents - a contentious 
issue that Islamabad has been keen to resolve.

As part of the government's plan, residents of all four camps will 
either repatriate to their homeland, availing themselves of UNHCR 
assistance, or relocate to other government-designated camps inside 
Pakistan.

Residents living in Kacha Gari and Jalozai in NWFP have the option to 
relocate to the Dodba refugee camp in upper Dir, while those at Girdi 
Jungle and Jungle Pir Alizai may shift to Ghazgai Minara in Loralai, 
both of which have basic water, health and education facilities.

"All Afghan refugees in the camps [slated for closure] have to decide on 
one of the two options available to them," Baloch said.

But that will remain a tough sell for the more than two million Afghan 
refugees officially in Pakistan, many of whom have lived in the country 
their entire lives.

A recent report on the registration of Afghans living in the country 
said the majority (82 percent) had no intention of returning home in the 
near future, with 41 percent citing insecurity as the primary factor.

And while to date no Afghans had asked to relocate, UNHCR expected 
approximately 10 percent of the two camps' populations to come forward.

"Preparations have been made to receive and provide assistance to this 
population in the camps designated for relocation," Baloch said, adding 
that additional space and infrastructure could be made available if 
initial estimates were exceeded.

Pakistan authorities are adamant there will be no more extensions for 
the camps, even though there is doubt the deadline will be met.

Khalid Mahmood, provincial commissioner for refugees, told IRIN from 
Quetta that plans to close Jungle Pir Alizai were on course even if the 
deadline is missed. "There will be no more extensions. The camp will 
close very soon, but I can't say when."

Activities to close the camp were suspended by Balochistan's provincial 
authorities, after an outbreak of violence between Pakistani security 
forces and refugees at the camp after authorities attempted to demolish 
several homes around the camp area on 16 May.

The clashes came a day after at least 70 shops and three homes were 
razed at the Kacha Gari camp.


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