Pakistan has extended Afghan refugees legally residing in the country by another one year, according to an official statement issued following the cabinet meeting on Wednesday. In its meeting, the federal cabinet approved a one-year extension of Proof Of Registration (POR) cards for 1.45 million Afghan refugees legally residing in the country and whose POR cards expired last month. The extension in the POR cards has been granted till 30th June next year. Repatriation of undocumented Afghans began on November 1 and officials now say that up to 500,000 have gone back. Officials had earlier stated there were nearly 1.7m illegal Afghans with most having lived in Pakistan for 40 years. A statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office today said: “The federal cabinet approved one-year extension of the validity of PoR (Proof of Registration) cards of 1.45 million Afghan refugees. Their PoR cards have been expired on June 30, 2024. The extension has been granted until June 30, 2025” said a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office. According to the UN refugee agency, Pakistan is still home to around 1.3 million registered Afghans.
Stay of registered Afghan refugees extended for one year
