Fewer Afghans returning home from Pakistan

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has temporarily suspended its voluntary Afghan repatriation program from Pakistan for the winter months, but will restart it in March of next year, IRIN reported Wednesday.

Since the program’s inception in 2002, over 3.2 million Afghans have returned from Pakistan.

However, despite bolstered financial assistance packages from UNHCR, the number of Afghan’s returning home is in decline due to security concerns.

“Indeed, the situation has deteriorated in parts of Afghanistan, especially the south, southeast and increasingly the central regions,” Vivian Tan, a spokeswoman for UNHCR, said. “Others said they cannot return for economic or social reasons, such as the lack of jobs, land, shelter, schools and clinics in Afghanistan,” she added.

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