MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The International Organization for Migration (IOM) on Friday requested $21 million to help Afghan refugees returning home from Pakistan, whose number is set to grow as Pakistani authorities treat undocumented Afghans increasingly harshly.
15 September 2016, 20:13 GMT
The IOM plans to provide assistance to about 140,000 undocumented Afghans in the form of travel vouchers to get them to their home areas, essential items made available to them at the Transit Center on the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan as well as emergency shelter and mobile phones.
According to the press release, the numbers of Afghan returnees are likely to keep growing because of the harsh treatment they receive from local authorities in Pakistan, including being forced to sell their assets for an unfairly low price, their children being expelled from schools and job opportunities shrinking.
The Pakistani government said on September 9 that it would extend the stay for Afghan refugees until the end of March and pledged to facilitate their return to Afghanistan.
