IEA ambassador, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister discuss Afghan refugee situation

Sardar Ahmad Shakeeb, ambassador of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan in Islamabad, held a telephone conversation with Sohail Afridi, Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, to discuss the situation of Afghan refugees in the province, with a particular focus on returnees.

According to a statement from the Afghan Embassy in Islamabad, Shakeeb expressed appreciation for ongoing efforts to support Afghan refugees, highlighting Afridi’s recent visit to the Hamza Baba camp in Landi Kotal. He welcomed directives issued to improve conditions at the camp, including the reactivation of mobile registration teams, and expressed hope that such initiatives would be further expanded.

The ambassador also called for an increase in mobile registration teams, improved facilities at the Hamza Baba camp and other sites, the swift release of thousands of stranded refugees, and an overall acceleration of the return process to Afghanistan.

Afridi, in response, thanked the Afghan ambassador and said he closely monitors the registration process and migrant holding centres across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on a daily basis.

He added that he would issue the necessary instructions to relevant authorities to ensure the concerns raised are addressed as quickly as possible.