The UN refugees'agency UNHCR would continue to support the voluntary repatriation of Afghan refugees as over 1,200 refugees have returned home with the agency's support so far this year, spokesperson of the agency said Thursday.

"Since the beginning of 2006, UNHCR has assisted more than 1, 200 Afghan refugees to return home voluntarily under its voluntary repatriation operation, now in its fifth year," Mohammad Nadir Farhad told Xinhua.

UNHCR expects to assist some 600,000 refugees to return from Pakistan and Iran in 2006, he said.

"More than 700 refugees have returned from Pakistan so far this year and the remaining 500 from Iran," Farhad added.

He also put the number of returnees from Pakistan since 2002 at as high as 2.7 million and the number from Iran at nearly 840,000.

Commenting on the slow return of refugees this year, the official said the repatriation program would get momentum in June, as the weather in Afghanistan is still cold now.

The UN Refugee Agency, he added, would pay a travel grant of between 4 U.S. dollars to 37 U.S. dollars depending on the distance to their destination inside Afghanistan plus 12 U.S dollars to each family to help them start their lives back home.

There are 2.6 million Afghan refugees in Pakistan currently and the UNHCR expects to repatriate 400,000 of them this year while more than 1 million others are in Iran.

The refugees'return began with the collapse of Taliban regime in late 2001 but the process has slowed down due to limited job opportunities and continued militancy in the country.

Even some of the returnees re-emigrated to neighboring countries for lack of shelters and high price of accommodation is beyond the reach of common people in the ruined Afghan capital Kabul.

"I am going to Iran to earn some money and support my family as I could not get a regular income in my country," said Ishaq, a man standing behind Iran's embassy gate to receive visa.

Source: Xinhua