Pakistan has resumed registration of Afghans living in the country amid a recent overwhelming response that earlier led the authorities to extend the deadline to January 19. Officials said the registration exercise, which started in October, was scheduled to end on December 31. However, it was extended to January 19 in view of a surge in the number of Afghans coming forward to register during the last two weeks. More than 26,000 Afghans are reporting daily for registration. The total number of the registered so far is over 1.3 million, which includes 864,945 in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), 233,927 in Balochistan, 133,643 in the Punjab and Islamabad, 73,508 in Sindh, and more than 6,000 in Azad Kashmir. The registration will resumed at 35 sites across Pakistan, including 18 in the NWFP, nine in Balochistan, six in the Punjab and two in Sindh. The government has asked the Afghan refugees to approach the designated centres in areas, where they were counted in the March 2005 census with their whole family, as well as bring documents to prove they were present in Pakistan at the time of the census. Documentation can range from Afghan identity cards (Tazkeras) to medical records and school certificates in Pakistan and voter registration cards from the Afghan elections. Proof of documentation is essential to keep the integrity of the exercise. We are trying to make a bona fide effort to capture the population that should be in the registration, said Indrika Ratwatte, the UNHCR official in charge of the registration exercise. The exercise is being conducted by Pakistan s National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) and supported by the Commissionerate for Afghan Refugees (CAR), Pakistan s Ministry of States and Frontier Regions and the UN High Commission for Refugees. The Afghans who were counted in the March 2005 census can only take part in the current registration. The target Afghan population is estimated at 2.4 million in Pakistan. Every registered Afghan above the age of five receives a Proof of Registration (PoR) card that is valid for three years and that recognizes the bearer as an Afghan citizen temporarily living in Pakistan. Children under five are listed on their mothers cards. Besides providing Afghan citizens with their first-ever official documentation in exile, registration seeks to profile them to help in the search for durable solutions and better manage their temporary stay in Pakistan. The $6 million registration exercise has received funds from the European Commission, the United States and the United Kingdom.
