The U.N. refugee agency Tuesday confirmed that it is assisting the Pakistani government to issue new refugee cards to more than 1.6 million Afghan refugees in the country, certifying that they are legally in the country and should be allow access to social services and basic rights. The refugee card "protects against risks such as extortion, arbitrary arrest, and detention as well as deportation under Pakistan's Foreigner's Act," UNHCR spokesman Adrian Edwards told reporters in Geneva. Under the two-phase process, current card holders of the so-called proof-of-registration (PoR) cards will get a replacement card valid until the end of 2015. The current ones were set to expire June 30. From July to the end of this year, Pakistani authorities will register and issue individual cards to some 150,000 children born during the past five years. In addition, under the initiative, another 330,000 Afghan children below the age of eighteen will receive birth certificates for the first time. Edwards said that the U.N. agency "welcomes the issuance of birth certificates," adding that it offers important protection for refugee children as it helps to prevents statelessness, makes it easier for children to access social services and schooling, and allows for the issuance of documentation.
