Pakistan mulls issuing work permits to Afghans

KABUL government may grant work permits to Afghan refugees after expiry of their ‘Proof of Registration’ cards by the end of 2015, a media report said on Tuesday.

The Express Tribune said the government was considering two options: either to grant citizenship or to issue work permits to about 1.6 million refugees living in the neighbouring country.

Either of the moves will legalise the stay of millions of immigrants in Pakistan, according to the newspaper, which said the options were floated after President Ashraf Ghani’s visit to the country last month.

Afghans are currently not allowed to work legally in Pakistan, which hosts 74 percent of globally acknowledged refugees since 1979.

Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) Senator Fateh Hasni, who handles issues related to foreigners living in Pakistan, saw no harm if the government issued work permits to refugees.

Currently, 996, 847 Afghans live in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, 323, 472 in Balochistan, 178, 441 in Punjab, 65, 855 in Sindh, 33, 992 in Islamabad and 6, 437 in 41 refugee camps in Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

PAN Monitor/mud

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