The office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Islamabad has announced that several centers for the voluntary return registration of Afghan migrants in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province have been temporarily closed due to issues and overcrowding of returnees on the Torkham route.
The organization has stated that the increase in the number of refugees in the Jammrood, Torkham, and other areas of the province since the reopening of the Torkham border for returnees is the main reason for the closure of these centers.
The UNHCR has announced that the reopening date for these centers will be communicated in the future.
Some Afghan migrants residing in Pakistan, who intend to voluntarily return to Afghanistan, have stated that they have been waiting for days to receive their documents at the relevant centers in Zakhil, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Saeed Khan Koji, a representative of the migrants, told BBS that hundreds of families have visited this center in recent days, but on Tuesday, they were informed that the center had been closed for an indefinite period.
Migrants emphasized that without receiving their refugee documents, they will not register for departure to Afghanistan in Jammrood and will not be allowed to return to their country.
Qaisar Afridi, a spokesman for UNHCR, confirmed to BBS that the centers for Afghan returnees have been temporarily closed, citing the gathering of a large number of returnees in Jammrood and Torkham, and the large volume of migrants between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
He also expressed hope that these centers will soon be reopened for the registration of returnees.
