However, Muhammad Abbas Khan, commissioner at the Pakistani government's Commissionerate for Afghan Refugees, told Xinhua that apart from the over 1.4 million refugees, there are 800,000 more registered with the Pakistani government, while an estimated 500,000 others are staying undocumented in the country.
"The registered with the UNHCR hold a proof of registration (PoR) card issued in 2005 after a census, and the card is renewed on yearly basis. Two years ago, the Pakistani government issued Afghan Citizenship Cards to about 800,000 people in order to document the large population of unregistered Afghans living illegally in the country, though the card does not have perk and privileges like the PoR card."
The Afghan refugees stay in 44 camps where they are provided basic health and education facilities. The housing at the camps along with basic facilities are being financed by Pakistan, while education, medical and other community services are covered by the UNHCR or donor organizations, according to the official.
"We roughly spent about 280 billion U.S. dollars on the refugees since the beginning of the Afghan refugee issue in the 1980s till 2008," the commissioner said, adding the new figure is being estimated by an independent agency.
Naseer Ahmad, 31, was born and schooled in Pakistan. "I have been to Afghanistan only once to seek employment, but came back in less than a year because being away from Pakistan is being away from my family which is settled here."
【国际英语资讯:Feature: Intl attention could bring better life to Afghan refugees in Pakistan】相关文章:
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