By IANS,
Islamabad : Pakistani Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf Wednesday announced a six-month extension to Afghan refugees staying in the country.
Pakistan had issued Proof of Registration cards to the refugees which were to expire Dec 31, 2012, Xinhua reported.
There are still 1.6 million registered Afghans in Pakistan, according to the UN refugee agency.
Pakistani officials say some one million unregistered Afghans were also living in the country.
“Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf has extended by six months the Pakistan, Afghanistan and UNHCR tripartite agreement on repatriation of Afghan refugees which was scheduled to expire on Dec 31, 2012,” Xinhua quoted a statement from the prime minister’s office as saying.
The decision was taken at a meeting held in the prime minister’s secretariat.
The prime minister also decided to constitute a committee led by Minister for States and Frontier Regions Shaukatullah to monitor the repatriation of Afghan refugees.