Pakistan – UNHCR to host International Conference in Islamabad

ISLAMABAD, 10 February 2020. TON: Pakistan in collaboration with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) will host an International Conference to mark “40 years of Afghan Refugees Presence in Pakistan: A New Partnership for Solidarity”, on 17-18 February 2020, Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

The two-day conference to be inaugurated by Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan will be held in Islamabad. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees’ Filippo Grandialong with representatives from 20 countries will attend the event. In Pakistan, Afghans can be categorized as Proof-of-Registration (PoR) Card holders and therefore refugees, visa holders or ‘undocumented’, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

Among those who are ‘undocumented’, there are Afghan-Citizenship-Card holders (ACC), those who registered for ACC but haven’t yet been issued with their cards, and those who hold no documentation from the Government of Pakistan at all.

IOM figures show that currently, Pakistan hosts 1.3 million registered Afghan refugees including Proof-of-Registration (PoR) Card holders and 1.1 million undocumented Afghans including totally undocumented or registered for Afghan-Citizenship-Card holders (ACC) due to expire on 23 March 2020.

Among those considered ‘undocumented’, 549,000 Afghans hold an ACC, a further 333,000 have registered for an ACC and are in possession of tokens, and another 300-400,000 Afghans hold no legal documentation from the Government of Pakistan at all as of 04 July 2019, according to IOM.

Last modified on Saturday, 19 December 2020 06:06

Rate this item

(0 votes)

Related items

The Tashkent’s conference on Afghanistan
FATF and Pakistan, sacrificing everything against terrorism
INDIA: UNGA chief 'saddened' by India's reactions to his Kashmir statements
NEW YORK, 2 June, 2021, (TON): General Assembly President Volkan Bozkir is “saddened” by India’s reaction to his statements on Kashmir, according to his Deputy Spokesperson Amy Quantrill, who has asserted that they were taken out of context.

During a news briefing on Tuesday Amy Quantrill said, "The President was saddened to see a press statement from the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, which portrays his remarks on Jammu and Kashmir from a selective perspective, while they are consistent with the longstanding UN position regarding this issue."

She said that "It is regrettable that the President's remarks were taken out of context."

In a news conference in Islamabad last week, Bozkir said in reference to Kashmir that "I think it is the duty, especially Pakistan's, to bring this to the United Nation platform more strongly."

While speaking with Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi at his side, Bozkir also endorsed Islamabad's attempts -- so far unsuccessful -- to link the Kashmir issue to the Palestine problem.

"As the minister mentioned, and also compared to two important things, I think the two problems are of the same age, Palestine and Jammu and Kashmir, and I fully agree that this is the case," he said.

He also added that the Kashmir issue does not have the "same enlarged political wind behind it" like the Palestine cause.

Indian External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi reacting to Bozkir's statement had said, "When an incumbent President of the UN General Assembly makes misleading and prejudiced remarks, he does great disservice to the office he occupies. The President of the UN General Assembly's behaviour is truly regrettable and surely diminishes his standing on the global platform."

"We express our strong opposition to the unwarranted references made with respect to the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir by the President of the United Nations General Assembly Volkan Bozkir during his recent visit to Pakistan," he said.

United Nations General Assembly President Volkan Bozkir visited Pakistan from May 26-28.
UNGA chief 'saddened' by India's reactions to his Kashmir statements
Pakistan wins WHO’s award for anti-tobacco campaign