U.S. Committee for Refugees World Refugee Survey 1997 - Pakistan

During the year, some 120,700 refugees repatriated from Pakistan to Afghanistan; however, 40,000 new Afghan refugees entered Pakistan. At the end of 1996, UNHCR estimated that there were 1.2 million Afghan refugees in Pakistan. According to the Pakistan government, as many as 13,000 refugees from India's Kashmir state were in Pakistan. UNHCR recognized 2,631 refugees from other countries, including 1,139 persons from Iraq (mostly ethnic Kurds), 922 Somalis, and 570 Iranians. Some 238,000 Biharis who are considered to be Pakistani nationals remained stranded in Bangladesh. They first sought refuge there at the time of India's partition in 1947. Afghan Refugees Nearly 40,000 new Afghan refugees entered Pakistan during the year. Some fled fighting associated with the Taliban militia's attacks on Jalalabad, an important city near the Pakistan border that was home to more than 137,000 internally displaced Afghans, and Kabul, the Afghan capital. Most, however, left after the Taliban's capture of Kabul, in large part because they opposed the Taliban's forceful imposition of strict Islamic rules, including a ban on women's employment and girls' education. On September 19, USCR wrote to the Pakistan authorities, who have at other times in recent years closed their border to new Afghan refugees, commending them for permitting the new refugees to enter. USCR also wrote to the U.S. authorities and UNHCR, urging them to help Pakistan respond to the influx. On September 27, following the Taliban's capture of Kabul, USCR again wrote to the government of Pakistan, urging it to keep the border open to new refugees. Only 16,000 of the 40,000 Afghans who entered Pakistan between September and December sought UNHCR assistance. The agency settled them in two refugee villages at Nasir Bagh and Akora VI. Fighting and insecurity in parts of Afghanistan continued to deter many Afghan refugees from repatriating. According to UNHCR, during 1996, some 120,700 Afghan refugees repatriated from Pakistan. Approximately 101,100 repatriated with UNHCR assistance, and 19,600 by their own means. Some repatriated to Kabul prior to the Taliban offensive, while others returned to calmer areas of Afghanistan. UNHCR did not promote repatriation to Afghanistan during 1996, but did provide those choosing to repatriate cash grants or in-kind assistance and transportation assistance. During 1996, UNHCR, noting that its estimates of the refugee population may have lost some validity over the years, undertook a new survey of the assisted refugee population. Its findings were inconclusive, however, indicating that the total could range from one million to 1.5 million. UNHCR then adopted a population estimate of 1.2 million, but announced plans to undertake a new survey in 1997. In December, the British Agencies Afghanistan Group (BAAG) published the findings of a study it had conducted on Afghan refugees' economic coping strategies. BAAG found that many of the long-standing refugees "were living at a marginal level of existence, dependent on intermittent daily laboring work." While those refugees who arrived in Pakistan between 1992 and 1994, mostly Kabulis, were faring "somewhat better," most had sold their personal property to survive, and "many relied on charity from other refugees." Other Refugees In June, the Pakistan authorities informed USCR that some 10,000 Kashmiri refugees from India were living in eastern Pakistan. Fighting between Indian government forces and pro-Pakistan Kashmiri Muslim separatists had displaced more than 250,000 Kashmiris in recent years. At the end of the year, Pakistan's Ministry of Kashmir Affairs reported that the number of Kashmiris in Pakistan had increased to 13,000. UNHCR assisted 1,139 Iraqi refugees in Pakistan, a majority of whom were Kurds. In recent years, many of the Kurds have sought third-country resettlement, but most have been rejected by the countries that provide resettlement opportunities. During 1996, only 32 Iraqis were resettled to third countries. In January, a number of Kurds staged a hunger strike outside the UNHCR office to press their case for resettlement. UNHCR encouraged the Kurds who remained in Pakistan to learn skills that would enhance their ability to become self-sufficient, but the agency said that the refugees responded negatively. UNHCR also assisted 922 Somalis, 570 Iranian Baha'is, and 72 refugees from other countries. During the year, 171 Iranians and 27 Somalis left for third-country resettlement; 40 Somalis repatriated.