CHAMAN, Pakistan, 14 July (UNHCR) - Nazar Mohammad, an asylum seeker from Afghanistan's Urzgan province, stood alone at one corner of the Chaman "waiting area" watching trucks leave in the early hours of the morning. He was in the last movement of Afghans from the makeshift camp on the border to the shelter of a refugee camp inside Pakistani.

"The days spent at the "waiting area" were days that we spent fighting for survival," said Mohammad, who spent 16 months stranded with his two wives and 11 children at the zone just inside the Pakistani border.

When the last convoy of 15 trucks carried 386 Afghans to the Mohammad Kheil refugee camp on 12 July, the U.N. Refugee Agency (UNHCR) had relocated all residents of the "waiting area" who asked to move to the camp.

Only some of those wanting to move to the new settlement of Zhare Dasht for internally displaced inside Afghanistan - now less than 4,000 people -- remain to be relocated in the next two weeks before the camp is completely closed.

The "waiting area" became a makeshift camp when Pakistan stopped admitting more of the Afghans who had fled the 2001 war that toppled the Taliban government . It had a population of around 26,000 before UNHCR relocated 7,000 Afghans to Zhare Dasht, near Kandahar, last September .

He said he decided to be relocated to Mohammad Kheil instead of Zhare Dasht for security.

"My family is not very sure about the recent developments in Afghanistan. We have been hearing and reading that normality has returned even to our places of origin in the north, but I don't have much confidence that this will prevail. If it does, we will decided to leave Pakistan after some time," said Mohammad.

The decision to close the "waiting area" by July 15 was taken by the governments of Pakistan and Afghanistan and UNHCR on May 14, 2003 in the inaugural meeting of the Tripartite Commission that is to oversee repatriation of Afghan refugees from Pakistan.

After the announcement, 8,102 Afghans opted be move inside Pakistan as refugees, while 10,916 registered to be relocated to Zhare Dasht. Only eight families, 32 individuals, took the option of returning to their places of origin.

Gaytrie Ammersing, a UNHCR field officer, said the relocations to Zhare Dasht would likely be complete by the last week of July since UNHCR is relocating 150 families per day, five days a week.

"We are pleased that the relocation process for Mohammad Kheil has ended without any hindrance," she said. She praised the help of Pakistani authorities and non-governmental organisations.

"Out of the 8,102 Afghans who registered from the "waiting area" for Mohammad Kheil only 277 did not show up for relocation. They might have changed their idea, opting for relocation to Zhare Dasht, as they had the option to change their choice," she said.

In the meantime Pakistani authorities have started demolishing the mud structures built in the "waiting area".

"Keeping in view the sensitivity of the area we decided to demolish the empty houses in close co-ordination with UNHCR," said Miro Khan, Project Director, Commissioner of Afghan Refugees, Balochistan. He said authorities made sure houses were empty and UNHCR verified the occupants had left before any demolition.

"With the closure of the Chaman "waiting area" expected in a couple of weeks, we can take a sigh of relief. The camp being right at the top of the border was a security concern for the Pakistan and Afghan governments," said Miro Khan.

As the last convoy left for Mohammad Kheil, Akhtar Mohammad was waiting for his move to Zhare Dasht. "I know it's still displacement in both ways, either choosing to go to Mohammad Kheil or going to Zhare Dasht. But I prefer being on my own soil rather than in Pakistan."

The combination of insecurity and the difficulty in providing assistance in the "waiting area" because Pakistan did not want it to become a permanent camp, had always made the stretch of waste ground unsuitable for a refugee camp.

"We are well aware that the "waiting area" was never accepted as a full fledged refugee camp, but even then the assistance provided by UNHCR and WFP with the approval of the Pakistan government kept us alive during the harsh conditions," said Mohammad.