Two million registered Afghan refugees

GENEVA, Switzerland, Feb. 19 (UPI) -- The United Nations says a registration drive of Afghan refugees in Pakistan has counted 2.16 million people, most of them women and children.

The four-month drive was intended to issue proof of registration cards to Afghan nationals who have fled decades of violence in their homeland, Ron Redmond, spokesman for the U.N. refugee agency said in Geneva.

Redmond explained the data will help the U.N. High Commission for Refugees, as well as the governments of Afghanistan and Pakistan, better manage and care for the refugees. Those who have obtained registration papers will now be eligible for a reintegration reward of $60, double the amount given to those without cards.

The registration cards, which recognize the refugees as Afghan citizens temporarily living in Pakistan, will be valid through the end of 2009. Afghans without the cards will be considered illegal migrants by the Pakistani government, and will have six weeks, or until April 15, to voluntarily return to their homeland with UNHCR's assistance.

The security situation in Afghanistan, where NATO troops overthrew the ruling Taliban in 2002, remains precarious.

Earlier this month, UNHCR and the two governments shut down four refugee camps in Pakistan, which had accommodated more than 230,000 Afghan refugees, due to security concerns, the United Nations said.

Last week, U.S. President George W. Bush urged NATO allies to deploy a bigger and more aggressive force to combat a resurgent Taliban and al-Qaida movement in the country.

Displaced Afghans in Pakistan cite the scarcity of land and shelter as one of the top reasons why they cannot return home, according to a 2005 refugee survey.

The United Nations estimates 3.5 million Afghans currently reside in either Pakistan or Iran.