Pakistan expected to extend Afghan refugees stay

Registered Afghan refugees living in Pakistan are expected to get another extension, a federal government official said on Monday when a repatriation deadline expired.
At last week’s meeting of the federal cabinet, the official told Pajhwok Afghan News, an agreement was reached on extending the refugees’ stay until June 2019.
However, the source said, the government of Prime Minister Imran Khan had not yet shared its decision with donors, notably the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugee (UNHCR).
The stay of Afghan refugees had last been stretched for three months in June by the caretaker government.
The likely new extension will be the first granted by the Khan administration. Last Thursday, Pakistan said it would formulate a comprehensive policy on Afghan refugees before extending their stay.
Information and Broadcasting Minister Chaudhry Fawad Hussain had said that Khan would be given a comprehensive briefing on the subject. Of the 2.5 million Afghan refugees living in Pakistan, two million have been registered while half a million remain undocumented.
About 879,198 refugees have Afghan citizen cards but reside in Pakistan. Another 1394,000 possess refugee cards.
PM Khan has announced granting the Afghans Pakistani citizenship, but the move has drawn criticism from different parties, including government allies.