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Musharraf says stable Afghanistan important for Pakistan

Fact Report

President Pervez Musharraf on Monday said in accordance with Pakistan’s support for the Bonn Process, a stable, peaceful and prosperous Afghanistan was of great importance to its neighbours, particularly Islamabad.

Talking to United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Ruud Lubbers, the president said the political and electoral process, which the Bonn Process had set in motion, should reflect the ethnic balance.

He said participation in the electoral process of the Afghan refugees in Pakistan should be assisted. "While this was the primary responsibility of Unama (United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan), it was Pakistan’s expectation that the UNHCR, with its experience, staff, and data, would assist in this regard, including facilitating the registration of the Afghan refugees," the president said.

Lubbers stated that the electoral participation of the Afghan refugees in Pakistan was not the primary mandate of the UNHCR, but he acknowledged that the involvement of the UNHCR would be of value. Lubbers outlined various options in the context of voluntary repatriation of Afghan refugees who had come to Pakistan in the past two and a half years as a result of the then disturbed conditions. The president observed that the sequencing should be such that first these refugees were repatriated, and after that the camps should be closed.

Regarding the majority of Afghan refugees, the high commissioner said that while a considerable number had returned to Afghanistan in the past two years, the UNHCR expected another 400,000 to 500,000 to be repatriated this year. The president stated that as conditions in Afghanistan improved, Pakistan looked forward to the return of the refugees so that they could play their rightful role in Afghanistan’s reconstruction and future.

Appreciating UNHCR’s assistance and role for the past two and a half decades, the president urged Lubbers to draw up a roadmap of UNHCR’s future role after the conclusion of the Tripartite Agreement between Pakistan, Afghanistan and the UNHCR in 2006. Lubbers assured the president the UNHCR would continue to play a supportive role in repatriating Afghan refugees when this phase concluded.

 



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