By IANS,
Islamabad : Of the 1.6 million Afghan refugees currently registered in Pakistan, around 70 percent are under the age of 18 and were born and bred in the host country, a UN survey says.
Pakhtuns constitute 82 percent of the refugees, followed by five percent Tajiks and four percent Uzbeks and other ethnic groups, Dawn quoted the report by the States and Frontier Regions Ministry and UN High Commissioner for Refugees as saying.
The “Population Profiling, Verification and Response Survey of Afghan Refugees” was done in 2011.
It examined the specific needs of the Afghans, and included information about their intention to return to their country, livelihood, socio-economic and legal conditions.
Around 20 percent of the refugees had collectively invested over Rs.18 billion in business in their country.
Over the last 10 years, 3.8 million Afghans have returned home, the study said.
Those who do not want to return, cited insecurity, unemployment and lack of shelter as the reasons for it.
Around 70 percent of the refugees have only one earning family member, while six percent of the households have no breadwinner.
With regard to education, 43 percent of boys and 67 percent of girls were never enrolled in schools, the study said.