FACT SHEET
Pakistan
MARCH 2024
Pakistan is the fifth largest UNHCR supports efforts undertaken With a focus on global
refugee hosting country by the Government of Pakistan to solidarity, the Solution
providing safety to some 1.38M provide protection and assistance to Strategy for the Afghan
registered refugees and asylum refugees and asylum seekers, while Refugees (SSAR) guides the
seekers who were forced to flee strengthening cohesion in host strategic direction of refugee
their countries. communities. programming in Pakistan.
REGISTERED REFUGEES AND ASYLUM SEEKERS IN
FUNDING (AS OF 29 FEBRUARY)
PAKISTAN: 1.38MILLION (99%) AFGHANS, 1% OTHERS
USD 120.2 million
Per province requested for Pakistan Operation
Funded 21%
25 million
▪ 68.6 per cent of Afghan refugees live in urban/semi-
urban localities
▪ 31.4 per cent continue to reside in the remaining 54
refugee villages
Unfunded 79%
* Data source: UNHCR Operational Data Portal, November
2023https://data2.unhcr.org/en/country/pak 95 million
UNHCR PRESENCE
260 Staff:
187 National Staff
73 International Staff
1 Country Office in Islamabad
2 Sub-Offices in Peshawar and Quetta
Presence in Chaman, Dalbandin, Haripur, Karachi,
Kohat, Loralai, Sukkur, Torkham
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FACT SHEET > Pakistan / MARCH 2024
Pakistan Impact Areas
Attaining Favourable Protection Environments
Changes in the enjoyment of rights as a result of increasingly favourable conditions for protection.
Empowering Communities & Achieving Gender Equality
Intended shifts in the protection and solutions of persons of concern as a result of advancements in
community mechanisms, gender equality, health and livelihoods.
Securing Solutions
Changes in the enjoyment of durable and alternative pathways to solutions for people we serve.
Main Activities
Protection
For more than 40 years, Pakistan has a long and commendable tradition of providing protection to refugees and
asylum-seekers. An estimated 1.35 million forcibly displaced people with protection needs are living in Pakistan.
These include mainly Afghan refugees holding Proof of Registration (PoR), as well as a small number of non-Afghan
refugees and asylum-seekers from other countries such as Myanmar, Yemen, Somalia and Syria.
Pakistan does not have a national asylum system in place nor is it signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention.
UNHCR continues to advocate for a better access by refugees and asylum seekers to basic rights in the country
while enhancing self-reliance among refugees and their host communities for sustainable solutions. UNHCR
significantly scaled-up the protection programme in response to the announcement of the Government’s of
Pakistan’s “Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan.”
▪ Registration: Government of Pakistan - the Ministry of States and Frontier Regions (SAFRON), the Chief
Commissioner for Afghan Refugees (CCAR) - and UNHCR with a technical support of the National Database
and Registration Authority (NADRA) concluded the Documentation Renewal and Information Verification
Exercise (DRIVE) in March 2023. The exercise aimed to verify and update records of the Proof of Registration
(PoR) holders and to address the need for new identity documents of Afghan refugees in Pakistan. These
smartcards provide faster and safer access to services such as health and education and banking. In 2024, 11
PCM centres will continuously update refugee data that had been collected and verified during DRIVE to
further systematize UNHCR’s approach to data building and evidence-based programming.
▪ Legal Assistance: UNHCR operates nine (9) Advice and Legal Aid Centres (ALACs) in the main refugee-hosting
areas. These centres directly secure release of persons of concern who are arrested/detained, conduct legal
awareness raising sessions with the community and capacity building activities with law enforcement agencies
on the rights of refugees.
▪ Community-based protection: With the support of Outreach Volunteers (OVs), refugee elders and focal points
in the community, UNHCR empowers refugees and their host communities to mitigate protection risks, mobilise
behavioural change, and to identify community-led initiatives aimed at sustainable solutions. UNHCR also
supports 2 Social Cohesion Hubs (1 in Quetta, 1 in Rawalpindi) to bring together the refugee and hosting
communities and build existing capacities among its members.
▪ Child Protection and Gender-based Violence: UNHCR and partners implement programmes for child
protection and gender-based violence survivors, including case management, psychosocial support, life skills
programmes, safe houses and friendly spaces, alternative care, family tracing and reunification, in addition to
community outreach and awareness programmes. Prevention, risk mitigation of and response to GBV are also
part of the response, with women and girls’ empowerment activities.
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FACT SHEET > Pakistan / MARCH 2024
Statelessness
UNHCR works in partnership to provide legal assistance to stateless Bengali, Bihari and Rohingya communities in
Karachi. The legal assistance focuses on acquiring and unblocking of identity documentation, legal advice and
awareness raising on importance of identity documentation, birth registration and help to access to basic services.
UNHCR also raises awareness on the procedures for birth registration in Pakistan and the importance of basic civil
documentation as a measure to prevent statelessness in a protracted situation. At the policy level, UNHCR
continues to work with key stakeholders to ensure inclusion of both stateless communities and refugees in national
Civil Registration and Vital Statistics systems and engage through relevant regional mechanisms such as the Bali
Process.
Durable Solutions
▪ Voluntary Repatriation: UNHCR supports refugees who express their intention to their country of origin. Two
(2) Voluntary Repatriation Centres in Baluchistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa facilitate registered Afghan
refugees to voluntarily return home. Considering rising inflation and increased transportation costs, UNHCR
adjusted the voluntary repatriation grant to USD 375 per individual. UNHCR assisted a total of 6,039 Afghan
refugees to return to their communities through our Voluntary Repatriation Program in 2022, with a significant
increase witnessed in 2023 reaching more than 36,000 in the context of the government’s repatriation plan.
UNHCR is anticipating around 50,000 Afghans will return through the VolRep programme in 2024.
▪ Resettlement and complementary pathways: UNHCR resumed its resettlement programme in 2022 with 3,504
applications to six resettlement countries. Throughout the year 2023, a total of 963 cases comprising 4,198
individuals were submitted to various countries. For 2024, UNHCR aims to increase applications to 5,500 on
behalf of Afghans, identifying the most vulnerable people with heightened protection needs for resettlement.
Third country resettlement is a tangible form of international responsibility sharing.
Livelihoods and Economic Inclusion
UNHCR supports livelihoods and economic inclusion for refugees to build their resilient. Projects are designed to
provide livelihood options with a focus on strengthening social and economic capital in refugee and host
communities. Assistance focuses on agriculture and artisanal skills alongside different vocational trainings adapted
to the local market as well as in Afghanistan and refugees’ interests. UNHCR is expanding access to tertiary
education opportunities, employment, and financial services. In recognition that voluntary return is the primary
durable solution for most of the refugees, a cross-border dimension has been integrated through these efforts. The
private sector equally features prominently as a partner to include refugees in supply chains and build new private
sector partnerships. To date, nine private sector and industry partners are actively supporting efforts linking
refugees to markets.
Education
UNHCR’s education strategy aims to increase enrolment and improve the retention rate of the most marginalised
refugee children and youth, and host communities. Key objectives include increasing access to quality education
services through the provision of safe schools in refugee-hosting areas and refugee villages, training teachers and
providing learning materials. Inclusion of refugees in public schools contributes to peaceful co-existence in host
communities, maximises investment in public resources and infrastructure and avoids provision of a parallel
education system. Approximately 54,000 refugee children are enrolled in 142 refugee village schools directly
supported by UNHCR across 54 refugee villages. In addition, more than 8,000 students are enrolled in public
schools under the RAHA programme, including both host and refugee students, with 14% being refugees. With a
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FACT SHEET > Pakistan / MARCH 2024
focus on girls’ access to education, UNHCR supports the Accelerated Learning Programme (ALP) in Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa and Home-Based Girls’ Classes in Balochistan, while providing cash-based assistance and
transportation allowances for those attending to secondary school. UNHCR also provides tertiary-level scholarships
to Afghan refugees between 17 to 30 years old through the Albert Einstein German Academic Refugee Initiative
(DAFI) and advocates at local level for the inclusion of refugees in undergraduate programs that would allow them
to contribute to their host communities.
Health & WASH
Refugee-Affected and Hosting Areas (RAHA) Programme
RAHA is a government-led programme. UNHCR, together with the Government of Pakistan, implement
the RAHA programme, a humanitarian-development nexus initiative. RAHA is a central vehicle for working
towards the overarching goals of the SSAR. RAHA constitutes an effort to move away from prolonged
dependence on open-ended humanitarian aid by enhancing social cohesion and building empowerment,
resilience and productive capacities of refugees and host communities through targeted investments into
national public service delivery systems (health, education, livelihoods, social protection etc.) and
infrastructure.
UNHCR is contributing to a scale-up of local and central government capacity on health along with Water,
Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH). UNHCR provides support that enables refugees to reach national services, when
available, and to support host communities to have better access to public health services,. UNHCR has transitioning
from support to parallel refugee facilities towards harmonized area-based programmes covering both host
communities and refugee villages. Working with the Government of Pakistan, UNHCR will explore options to
expand refugees’ access to public services in social protection and health insurance schemes.
Access to Energy
In Pakistan, most of the rural population where Afghan refugees live, have no access to electricity and depend
heavily on traditional fuels, increasing protection and health risks as well as environmental concerns. Addressing
the energy needs of refugees and host communities by improving access to sustainable, clean and affordable energy
sources is a priority activity. UNHCR has solarised facilities and water systems in host communities, provided
renewable energy appliances, and vocational skills training on operation and maintenance of these tools, along with
environmental education for Afghan refugee men and women. Such activities are aimed at improving communities’
protection and wellbeing, while also reducing the environmental impact of energy generation and consumption.
In refugee villages, the implementation of solar streetlights is instrumental in addressing energy access challenges.
These lights enhance safety and security, providing a well-lit environment for residents during nighttime hours.
Moreover, their reliance on renewable energy aligns with sustainable practices, contributing positively to the overall
well-being of the community. UNHCR Pakistan Operations has installed solar streetlights in three RVs in 2023 and
refugees in 10 more RVs in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces will gain benefits of solar
streetlights in 2024.
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FACT SHEET > Pakistan / MARCH 2024
Climate-friendly interventions and green energy access for refugees and hosting communities
UNHCR procured 26,870 solar portable kits in 2023, which will be
distributed among the refugees and hosting communities in KP and
Balochistan in the first half of 2024. Each kit is equipped with three
lights and one fan, are versatile for use in various environments.
They can provide electricity access for up to 18 hours per day while
ensuring zero risk of electrocution.
In addition, UNHCR is solarizing 123 public facilities, including 103
educational facilities, 16 health facilities, and 4 livelihood facilities.
These projects are expected to contribute 4 Mega-Watts of clean
energy, providing uninterrupted and affordable energy to the
beneficiaries. Any excess electricity generated will be exported to
the national grid where feasible. This initiative is expected to offset
approximately 2,700 tons of Carbon Dioxide equivalent (CO2e),
equivalent to 1,500 tons of unburnt coal or 265,226 gallons of
unused diesel.
Working with Partners
UNHCR works in coordination with the Government of Pakistan, UN agencies, humanitarian and development
organizations, and civil society to find solutions for refugees, asylum-seekers, stateless persons, and other persons
of concern to UNHCR. UNHCR funds a total of 371 partners including 21 national organizations, six government
partners, five international non-governmental organizations and five UN Agencies:
■ Governmental: Ministry of States and Frontier Regions (SAFRON), including the Chief Commissionerate for
Afghan Refugees (CCAR) and the Commissionerate for Afghan Refugees at provincial level in Balochistan and
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are the main counterpart. At federal level, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Interior,
Ministry of Human Rights, Ministry of Education and Professional training, National Health Regulation and
Services, and the Planning Commission are key partners to continue strengthening services and support for
refugees and host communities. UNHCR works jointly with the National Database and Registration Authority
(NADRA) for registration of Afghan refugees. UNHCR also works in partnership with National Vocational and
Technical Training Commission (NAVTTC) at the federal level and Technical Education and Vocational Training
Authorities (TEVTA) at the provincial level for the youth skill development. UNHCR collaborates with provincial
department of health, education, social welfare, home, and tribal affairs along with other provincial and district
level government line departments. UNHCR coordinates as well with Balochistan University of Information
Technology, Engineering and Management Sciences (BUITEMS).
■ UN Agencies and NGOs:
▪ National: Inspire Pakistan, Society for Humanitarian Rights & Prisoners (SHARP), Pakistan Poverty Alleviation
Fund (PPAF), Imkaan Welfare Organization (IWO), Initiative For Development And Empowerment Axis
(IDEA), Khwendo Kor, Hashoo Foundation, Sarhad Rural Support Programme (SRSP), Drugs And Narcotics
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UNHCR Islamabad and Peshawar have signed separate partnership agreements with SHARP. Therefore, UNHCR has a total of 38 agreements with 37 partners.
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FACT SHEET > Pakistan / MARCH 2024
Educational Services For Humanity (DANESH), Society For Empowering Human Resources (SEHER), Water,
Environment & Sanitation Society, Pakistan (WESS), Peoples Primary Healthcare Initiative (PPHI)
Balochistan, Innovative Development Organization (IDO), Taraqee Foundation (TF), Society for Community
Support to Primary Education (SCSPE), Tameer-e-Khalq Foundation (TKF), Citizens Archive of Pakistan
(CAP), Special Talent Exchange Program (STEP), Integrated Regional Support Programme, Pak Mission
Society and Frontier Primary Health Care Pakistan (FPHC)
▪ UN Agencies and International NGOs: UNFPA, UN Habitat, UNICEF, UNOPS and ILO, International Rescue
Committee (IRC), International Medical Corps, Muslim Hands, Secours Islamique France, Pathfinder
International.
■ The UNHCR-led inter-agency Refugee Response Plan (RRP) facilitates UN agencies’ and other partners’
contributions to Pakistan’s refugee situation. 32 partners joined the 2022 RRP (Including 10 local NGOs), 56
partners joined the 2023 RRP, (including 30 local NGOs) and 45 partners joined the 2024/2025 RRP (including
17 local NGOs). The RRP 2023 recognizes the on-going deterioration in living conditions for both Afghans and
the communities that host them across all sectors, caused by economic hardship, inflation, and the impact of
floods and other climate related hazards. Coordination forums such as the Pakistan Refugee Consultative Forum
(co-chaired by UNHCR and the Ministry SAFRON/CCAR) are used for strategic and operational planning,
resource mobilization and advocacy. UNHCR coordinates its work with thematic working groups, including
education, health, food security, livelihoods and resilience, WASH while leading a protection working group.
These are co-led by specialized UN agencies and relevant government counterparts and are a valuable
coordination mechanism for a joint response.
■ National Goodwill Ambassador: Actress and activist Mahira Khan uses her voice to raise awareness on behalf of
refugees and their host communities in Pakistan and globally.
Core Group of Support Platform for Solutions Strategy for Afghan Refugees (SSAR)
▪ Committed to a comprehensive refugee response and greater responsibility-sharing, fifteen states and
international organizations are members of the Core Group of the Support Platform for Solutions Strategy
for Afghan Refugees (SSAR) at a global level: Asian Development Bank, Denmark, European Union,
Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Republic of Korea, Qatar, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom,
UNDP, United States of America, and World Bank. The current chair of this Group is Qatar with the
Netherlands as co-chair.
▪ In Pakistan, the Local Core Group was established in 2021, duplicating the arrangement at the global level.
The local Core Group regularly meets at the ambassadorial and working levels. Under the Local Core Group,
at the technical level, a Livelihoods Thematic Working Group (LTWG) and an Education Thematic Working
Group (ETWG) have been led by the United States
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FACT SHEET > Pakistan / MARCH 2024
Financial Information
UNHCR is grateful for the critical support provided by donors who have contributed to this operation as well as
those who have contributed to UNHCR programmes with broadly earmarked and unearmarked funds. UNHCR
Pakistan benefitted from significant donor support for the Afghan emergency in 2021-2023 and for the Floods
Response in 2022-2023.
Country-level earmarked contributions in 2024
Netherlands | European Union | Republic of Korea | Switzerland | Private donors in Saudia Arabia | Private donors
in Luxembourg | Germany | Japan
Softly and unearmarked contributions in 2024
Norway | Iceland | Philippines | Private donors
Sweden | Norway | Netherlands | Denmark | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland | Switzerland |
Republic of Korea | Ireland | España con ACNUR | Belgium | Australia | Algeria | Angola | Armenia | Costa Rica |
Estonia | Finland | Luxembourg | Malta | Monaco | Montenegro | New Zealand | Philippines | Saudi Arabia | Serbia |
Singapore | Thailand | Türkiye | Private donors
CONTACTS
Aoife McDonnell, Senior External Relations Officer
[email protected], Tel: +41 22 739 7518
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