Pakistani Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch has denied being victimized by UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi that Pakistan has suspended its plan to repatriate refugees. Baloch said no such commitment has been given to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.
Emphasizing that the plan to repatriate foreigners who entered the country illegally was still in effect, Baloch said that the plan was being implemented in an orderly and phased manner.
UN High Commissioner for Refugees Grandi had recently stated that Pakistan had halted its plan to send refugees back to their country. However, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry denied these claims and stated that no such decision had been taken in the talks with Grandi.
Pakistani Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar, in his meeting with Grandi, drew attention to the country’s need for international support for refugees. It was stated that the repatriation plan for 1.3 million Afghan refugees registered in the country will continue.
According to UN data, there are over 1.3 million registered Afghan refugees in Pakistan.
