BALKH - Afghan Refugees and Repatriation Minister, Dr. Jamahir Anwari on Wednesday described absence of shelters as a major problem for the Afghans returning to the country.

Speaking to journalists in Mazar-i-Sharif while visiting a refugee town, Anwari said he wanted to evaluate the status of returnees in the northern region in line with the presidential decree.

“The situation of returnees is relatively satisfactory in the north, but we still have problems such as unemployment, lack of access to health facilities, education and potable water," he said. He appealed for international support.

The ministry has plans to repatriate 450,000 families back to Afghanistan, for whom the government will construct 48 residential towns for returnees, Anwari promised.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said the number of returnees to northern provinces from Pakistan and Iran has doubled in 2012. Nearly 4,005 families returned this year, compared to 2,504 in 2011, the UNHCR spokesman in the north, Fahim Hamdard told Pajhwok Afghan News.

In 2011, the number of returning individuals was 13,811, compared to 23,094 in 2012, Hamdard said. The returnees have settled in nine provinces, receiving assistance.

Source: Balkh Afghanistan Times