News story QUETTA, 28 September, 2017: It is a fine evening. A group of Afghan women are enjoying traditional Afghan tea with Roghni (Afghan snacks) and white Afghan sweets. Everybody is happy as they gather to fix the date for an engagement ceremony. Amid the excitement, the mother of the 14-year-old, soon-to-be-bride, takes everyone by surprise when she raises her concerns about underage marriages. This w ...

News Story QUETTA, 31 August 2017: A father takes his daughter to a school where she is the only girl student amongst the boys as there is no school for girls in the village. He faces sarcastic remarks from many people in the community for being odd, but that does not shake his resolve. He strongly believes in a better and brighter future for girls and considers education as the basic right of every human b ...

News story ISLAMABAD (17 August, 2017): The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) organised a night of entertainment and culture show the cohesion and harmony between Pakistani and Afghan refugee communities. The cultural festival ‘Rangoona’ (unity in diversity) brought together people from different backgrounds including diplomats, government officials, artists, musicians, a poet and the media. The festival rocked the ...

Press Release QUETTA, 7 August, 2017: In an effort to improve the health services in public hospitals in Quetta, the UN Refugee Agency Monday handed over a health project worth Rs35.4million (USD350,000) to the provincial health department that will benefit 200,000 patients. The project was handed over at a ceremony which was attended by UNHCR and government officials. Under the project - implemented throug ...

By: Samad Khan 21 July 2017 PESHAWAR, Pakistan – An Afghan in Pakistan without papers, Mohammad Rehman has lived all his life in fear of arrest by the police and deportation to his conflict-torn homeland. But a new Pakistan government programme to register up to one million undocumented Afghans like him, is finally allowing him to dream of stepping out of the shadows with a measure of security. “I am feelin ...

Press Release QUETTA: The UN Refugee Agency UNHCR signed a Partnership Agreement with Balochistan University of Information Technology, Engineering and Management Sciences (BUITEMS) on 7th June 2017 Wednesday. This collaboration is aimed at establishing a Centre for Refugees and Migration Studies (CRMS) as well as provision of training for refugee teachers and opportunities for entrepreneurship/business stu ...

News Story New furniture helps keep Afghan refugee and Pakistani children in schools QUETTA, 31 May, 2017: Nine year-old Nadia Abdul Waris attends school with enthusiasm since her school has received new sets furniture for students. “Sitting on the floor was very uncomfortable and I always wished to go to a well-furnished school as shown on TV,” says the fourth grade student of government girls high school, ...

Press Release  PESHAWAR – The UN Refugee Agency on Wednesday handed over 4,000 tents, 8,000 plastic sheets and 4,000 core relief item kits to FATA Disaster Management Authority (FDMA) aimed at supporting the government’s efforts to facilitate returns to South Waziristan and North Waziristan Agencies. Most of Pakistan’s internally displaced people have returned to their homes in the tribal areas while some 4 ...

Press Release PESHAWAR, 16 May, 2017: The closing ceremony of training of the first batch of trainees of Skills Development Program (SDP) initiated under the United Nations’ Refugees Affected and Hosting Areas (RAHA) programme was held at Peshawar University on Tuesday. The Chief Commissioner Afghan Refugees, Dr. Imran Zeb distributed certificates & toolkits among the leading trainees of all Institutes ...

Press Release ISLAMABAD, May 12, 2017: Entrepreneurship and Community Development Institute (ECDI) and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) are organizing a two-day exhibition with the theme ‘MAKE BEAUTIFUL THINGS’ to showcase and promote handcraft products made by Pakistani communities and Afghan refugees on May 13 and 14 in Islamabad. The products being exhibited at the Loafology Cafe are prepared by Afghan refu ...