Press Release 10 December, 2015 ISLAMABAD (10 December, 2015): As part of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence campaign, UNHCR offices across Pakistan organized various activities aimed at raising awareness among the people specially youth about safe education. The annual 16 Day campaign of Activism against Gender-based violence conclude on 10 December, marking the international Human Right ...

News story QUETTA (10 December, 2015): A wave of happiness and relief washed over Samina when she walked out of hospital without any support for the first time in two years. Born to a Pakistani family, the 14-year-old, suffered from typhoid fever that left her physically disabled because her family could not afford to pay for her medical treatment. Samina’s dream of walking back on her feet came true when s ...

Press Release, 07 December 2015 QUETTA: Glad tidings for persons with disabilities in Balochistan as the province gets its first ever facility at the Orthopaedic, Prosthetic and Physiotherapy Centre (OPPC) that will provide free of cost quality prosthesis.  The existing OPPC has been upgraded and equipped with modern technology by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), funded by the European Union under the Refugee ...

 News Stories, 26 November 2015 ISLAMABAD, Nov 26 2015, Pakistan (UNHCR) – Every stroke of Manizha's brush tells a story. Through her art, hundreds of women have been given a voice, a chance to speak out about their harrowing experiences of life under the Taliban. But each painting reminds Manizha, a 26-year-old Afghan refugee, of her own struggle, which began in 1997 when she and her family were forced to ...

News Stories, 5 October 2015 ISLAMABAD, Sept 30, Pakistan (UNHCR) – Life tests student Abdul Khalil, a 30-year-old refugee from Afghanistan, to the limits. Each day, he works between 18 to 19 hours. He starts at 8:00 a.m. from the university where he studies and finishes at a flooring sheet factory at 3:00 a.m. where he works. Khalil's family fled their native Kunduz in Afghanistan in 1986 when he was aged ...

News Stories, 5 October 2015 GENEVA, Oct 5 (UNHCR) – The courageous work of an Afghan refugee teacher took centre stage Monday night as Aqeela Asifi was presented with the 2015 Nansen Refugee Award by UN High Commissioner for Refugees, António Guterres. In an extraordinary story of bravery and determination against all odds, Aqeela Asifi made it her mission over more than 20 years in exile to bring educatio ...

Press Release ISLAMABAD, Sep 29 (UNHCR) – Speakers at a reception Tuesday paid rich tributes to Aqeela Asifi, winner of the prestigious 2015 UNHCR Nansen Refugee Award for her extraordinary humanitarian work on behalf of refugees. Afghan refugee teacher Aqeela Asifi dedicated her life to bringing education to refugee girls in Pakistan. Her brave and tireless commitment has helped thousands of refugee girls ...

Press Release ISLAMABAD: The UN refugee agency has facilitated the return of over 50,000 registered Afghan refugees from Pakistan so far this year under the agency’s largest and longest running voluntary repatriation programme. As part of its facilitated group return (FGR) initiative, UNHCR on Wednesday assisted a group of 550 registered Afghan refugees return to Herat from its voluntary repatriation centre ...

News Stories, 10 August 2015 ATTOCK, Pakistan, Aug 10 (UNHCR) – Abdur Rehman was just four years old when his father died and he found himself separated from his mother. As years went by, he lost all hope of ever seeing her again. But while living with foster parents, more than a decade later the then-15-year-old Rehman had a breakthrough. Somebody knew where his mother was and took him to meet her. “I coul ...

News Story QUETTA, 22 July 2015, Pakistan (UNHCR) - Abdul Waheed’s father could not breathe and urgently needed oxygen to stay alive. Waheed erupted into cries, knowing how serious his father’s condition was. The doctor, too, knew he was critical. But despite all the worries, Waheed’s father survived - thanks to a sophisticated centralized oxygen system introduced for the first time in Fatimah Jinnah Chest ...