PESHAWAR, 26 April, 2017: An Afghan girl expresses her feelings through paintings and to soothe away the pain she has endured. She has gone through a lot in her short life, but she does not give up, she pushes herself forward every day. 18-year-old Tamanna’s only support is her mother who raised her with many financial and social challenges. Her father was killed in Afghanistan in 2007 and her younger broth ...

Press Release 25 years of higher education for refugees German-funded DAFI scholarships open up a world of opportunity for Afghan refugees in Pakistan ISLAMABAD: The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the Government of Germany today marked 25  years of  the  German-funded  Albert  Einstein  Academic  Refugee Initiative  (DAFI), that  provides  means  for  refugees  to  pursue  a higher  education. Si ...

  PESHAWAR, 05 April 2017 – An Afghan girl had never been to school, but after years she found a ray of hope. Tahira Naz’s family and relatives did not want to send her to school due to cultural reasons. Now she feels overjoyed as her dream to become a doctor takes a step closer to being realised. Born and raised in Pakistan, 14-year-old Tahira recently was enrolled into one of the home-based schools close ...

Press Release 20 March 2017 Dera Ismail Khan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa – The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the Commissionerate for Afghan Refugees completed the refurbishment of three schools and a basic health unit in Dera Ismail Khan in the south of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Monday. The four projects were delivered under the refugee affected and hosting areas (RAHA) programme and were officially handed ove ...

Press Release 9 March 2017 ISLAMABAD: The government of Japan has announced a contribution of USD 7 million to UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and World Food Programme (WFP) to support the Afghan Refugees and host communities in Pakistan. The official announcement was made by the Minister for States and Frontier Regions (SAFRON) Lt. Gen. (Retd) Abdul Quadir Baloch and the Ambassador of Japan in Pa ...

Press Release 22 February 2017 QUETTA:  The UN Refugee Agency’s (UNHCR) country Representative in Pakistan, Indrika Ratwatte together with the Federal Minister for States and Frontier Regions (SAFRON), Lt. General (R) Abdul Qadir Baloch is on a three-day mission in Quetta, where they inaugurated a Skill Development Programme (SDP) on Wednesday. UNHCR country representative is accompanied by the Country Repr ...

Press Release ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN, 15 FEBRUARY 2017 – Representatives of the Islamic Republics of Pakistan and Afghanistan and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) underlined the importance of moving expeditiously from policy to implementation to support the needs of Afghan refugees. Afghanistan has recently formed a high-level Displacement and Return Executive Committee (DiREC) to prioritise assistance needs and ...

Islamabad, 7 February 2017 – The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) welcomes the Federal Cabinet of Pakistan’s decision to adopt a national policy relating to the management of refugees and Afghans nationals in Pakistan. The decision to extend the validity of the Proof of Registration cards to some 1.3 million registered Afghans refugees until the end of 2017; a pledge to document Afghan nationals who currently have ...

This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Ariane Rummery – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at today's press briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva. 2016 saw a surge in the return of Afghan refugees from Pakistan, which has been hosting large numbers of Afghan refugees for four decades. More than 370,000 registered Afghan refugees returned home from Pakistan in 2016 – a 12 year h ...

Press Release KARACHI, PAKISTAN – 27 January 2017 – As part of efforts to bridge gaps between Pakistani and Afghan refugee communities across the country, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) formally handed over four projects to the government in Sindh province, south-west Pakistan. In 2016 in Karachi, under the refugee-affected hosting area (RAHA) programme, two schools were renovated, one sewage pipeline instal ...