By IRNA,
Islamabad : UNHCR is increasingly concerned about plight of flood-affected Afghan refugees in Pakistan, some of whom are now under pressure to repatriate by speculators around Peshawar seeking to develop land that until now has been occupied by refugee settlements.
With 1.7 million Afghan refugees, Pakistan has one of the world’s largest refugee populations. More than 1.5 million of these are in affected provinces, dozens of Afghan refugee villages have been damaged, and several are completely destroyed. In Khyber Pakhtunkwa Province alone, more than 12,000 dwellings in refugee villages have been swept away leaving almost 70,000 people homeless.
Many of the Afghan refugee settlements in Pakistan were established some 30 years ago after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan triggered the first wave of refugees. At the time the settlements were in remote areas or on the edges of cities. Over the years, the land has become more valuable as cities have grown.
One of the worst hit refugee villages has been Azakheil in Nowshera district in Pakistan’s northwest. Here more than 23,000 people lost homes. A UNHCR technical team is on its way today to assess the feasibility of rebuilding on the site. Over the next days, the provincial government is expected to decide whether the village can be rebuilt on the same site or whether residents will have to relocate to another settlement in the same district.
In the damaged refugee camps around Peshawar, Afghans are picking through the mud trying to salvage what they can from their homes. Most have sought shelter elsewhere for the moment, and are scattered in surrounding communities with relatives or in makeshift shelters. Since the floods hit at the end of July, UNHCR has distributed tents and other shelter supplies – for example, cooking sets and sleeping materials – to the worst-hit families. The UNHCR says it is also preparing to rebuild infrastructure including schools, health points and water and sanitation facilities in refugee villages and surrounding communities in cooperation with local authorities and humanitarian partners.