UNHCR Pakistan

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Pakistan

Afghans Stranded on Chaman and Zhare Dasht

Wheelbarrows are Stacked up at the New Temporary
Settlement of Zhare Dasht Near Kandahar.

UNHCR Staff Check the Names of Those Afghans who have Asked to be Moved from the Pakistani Border to a New Temporary Settlement Near Kandahar.

Trucks Carry Afghans from the Waiting Area to a New
settlement near Kandahar.

The Waiting Area Where 26,000 Aghans have been Stranded on the Pakistani Border Since the Frontier was Closed in Febraury.

Afghan Who had been Stranded on the Pakistani Border Near Chaman Carry Their Belonging to Tents Assigned to Them at the New Settlement of Zhare Dasht inside Afghanistan.

Afghan Children Play Between the Ragged Tents of the Waiting Area Where They Have Been Stranded on the Pakistani Border Since February.

An Afghan girl looks out of the bus as it starts out from Islamabad toward Afghanistan, with reflections of men packing the top of another bus showing on the window beside her.

Old man is being questioned inside the VRC about the Family shown in the picture to ensure he is a legitimate returnee before he receives the forms that will entitle him to assistance on his return to Afghanistan.

Even children must put their fingers in ink to mark them so they can be spotted if they quickly return from Afghanistan to Pakistan.

Counting the family members about to board a bus to ensure it matches the picture and documents they have.

Officials question a woman about the composition of her family in the final checks to weed out "recyclers" -- those trying to claim assistance for a second time -- before refugees depart for Afghanistan

People assembled by buses and trucks where they receive a final check by members of UNHCR and SHARP, the local implementing partner, before heading off to Afghanistan.

A family climbs up on a truck, where they will ride under the makeshift shelter atop their belongings on the trip back to Afghanistan.

Pakistani-Afghan border
	Two elders request assistance at a meeting with UNHCR workers in the waiting area on the Pakistani-Afghan border.
	A child with a wheelbarrow of used oil that those in the waiting area on the Pakistani-Afghan border are burning to keep warm in subzero weather.
	Two elders requesting education assistance during a meeting in the waiting area, Chaman, Pakistan.
	A young girl, with a blanket over her head in the waiting area at Chaman as cold weather bites in the mountains of Pakistan near the Afghan border
Asgharo camp
	An Afghan man and boys listen intently to a lecture on health given at the Basic Health Unit run in Asgharo camp by LDI
	A school for boys at Asgharo refugee camp
	Afghan men pray at Asgharo refugee camp during Ramadan
	Girls use pump provided by LDI at Asgharo camp
	Men line up to received rations of tea and soap from UNHCR at Asgharo camp
	Refugee children in Asgharo camp
	Smoke rises over Asgharo as refugees prepare for the iftar that will follow a day of fasting
	Girls at a pump in Asgharo camp provided by LDI, a Kuwait-based non-governmental organisation
	Takhta Baig Voluntary Repatration Centre UNHCR has begun a test of iris recognition technology for Afghan refugees seeking assistance to return to their homeland from Pakistan. The iris of each refugee over the age of approximately 16 years is recorded as a digital code to prevent anyone receiving assistance a second time. Each iris is unique, ensuring any person reappearing at the VRC would be detected. regards
	Wheelbarrows are Stacked up at the New Temporary Settlement of Zhare Dasht Near Kandahar.
	UNHCR Staff Check the Names of Those Afghans who have Asked to be Moved from the Pakistani Border to a New Temporary Settlement Near Kandahar.
	Trucks Carry Afghans from the Waiting Area to a New settlement near Kandahar.
	The Waiting Area Where 26,000 Aghans have been Stranded on the Pakistani Border Since the Frontier was Closed in Febraury.
	Afghan Who had been Stranded on the Pakistani Border Near Chaman Carry Their Belonging to Tents Assigned to Them at the New Settlement of Zhare Dasht inside Afghanistan.
	Afghan Children Play Between the Ragged Tents of the Waiting Area Where They Have Been Stranded on the Pakistani Border Since February.
	An Afghan girl looks out of the bus as it starts out from Islamabad toward Afghanistan, with reflections of men packing the top of another bus showing on the window beside her.
	Old man is being questioned inside the VRC about the Family shown in the picture to ensure he is a legitimate returnee before he receives the forms that will entitle him to assistance on his return to Afghanistan.
	Even children must put their fingers in ink to mark them so they can be spotted if they quickly return from Afghanistan to Pakistan.
	A boy on a bus of Afghans leaving for Afghanistan.
	Checking those departing for Afghanistan from the Islamabad VRC
	counting process
	Counting the family members about to board a bus to ensure it matches the picture and documents they have.
	Officials question a woman about the composition of her family in the final checks to weed out "recyclers" -- those trying to claim assistance for a second time -- before refugees depart for Afghanistan
	People assembled by buses and trucks where they receive a final check by members of UNHCR and SHARP, the local implementing partner, before heading off to Afghanistan.
	A family climbs up on a truck, where they will ride under the makeshift shelter atop their belongings on the trip back to Afghanistan.