2.7 Million Afghan Refugees Return Home from Pakistan

The number of Afghan refugees returning from Pakistan under the voluntary repatriation assistance programme of the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has passed the 2.7 million mark, with over 415,000 repatriated so far in 2005, the agency has announced. Under the programme, nearly 1.6 million Afghans returned from Pakistan in spring 2002, followed by some 340,000 in 2003 and more than 380,000 in 2004. To date, more than 415,000 Afghans have returned to their homeland this year since the programme resumed in March after a three-month winter break.