Pakistan on Tuesday suggested an international multilateral summit be convened to bring together stakeholders to address challenges related to the voluntary repatriation and third-country resettlement of Afghan refugees.

According to Pakistani media, the idea was floated by Muhammad Abbas Khan, chief commissioner for Afghan refugees (CCAR) at the Ministry of States and Frontier Regions (SAFRON), at an Islamabad seminar.

Dawn News reported that Khan suggested the main objective of such a conference should be to encourage Western countries to increase their quotas and expedite the process for admitting Afghan applicants into their countries from Pakistan.

Speaking at a seminar titled “Challenges and Opportunities in Repatriation and Resettlement of Afghan Refugees”, Khan emphasized the importance of international burden-sharing.

He shared that there were around 600,000 Afghan resettlement applicants registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) but that the organization’s quota for resettlement applications for the year was only 8,000. 

This, he said, was very unrealistic.

He also stated that the repatriation process of Afghan refugees posed numerous challenges.

According to him, Pakistan has repatriated over four million Afghan refugees since 2002. 

He also said Afghanistan’s capacity to absorb large numbers of refugees was limited. 

Khan said a tripartite meeting with the Afghan government and the UNHCR would be held soon to discuss issues related to refugees.

According to Dawn News, he stated that the repatriation process of illegal Afghans had gone smoothly and successfully and over 600,000 had returned since the process began in November 2023.

The United Nations meanwhile announced earlier this week that 2.2 million Afghan migrants returned from Iran and Pakistan between September 15, 2023 and September 30, 2024.

On Sunday, November 17, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) released new data, noting that many of the deported individuals were provided with initial assistance.

The UN agency added that the Iranian government has intensified its deportation of Afghan migrants, resulting in hundreds of individuals crossing the borders into Afghanistan daily.