PESHAWAR: If the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) agrees to support the scheme, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sardar Ali Amin Khan Gandapur has promised free health treatment to Afghan nationals living in the state.
The chief minister made these remarks on Monday in Islamabad during a meeting with a UNHCR mission. Philippa Cadler, the UNHCR representative for Pakistan, headed the trip. The team discussed issues pertaining to Afghan refugees residing in the province with the chief minister when they paid him a visit at Khyber Pakhtunkhwa House in Islamabad.
The province’s citizens have been eligible for free medical care from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government through the Sehat Card Plus health insurance scheme.
10.2 million households, or 33.2 million people in the province, are eligible to use the program to go anywhere in the nation to receive cashless medical care. Up to Rs. 1 million in free treatment services can be provided to a family each year.
CM also recommends starting a program for refugees to acquire their skills.
The persons who have the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa national identity card can receive free medical care at any of the more than 700 government-affiliated facilities. 118 of the empanelled hospitals are situated inside the province; the remaining institutions are spread throughout other provinces and Islamabad.
According to a statement released here, the chief minister and the UNHCR delegation decided to further deepen their relationship in order to provide better facilities to refugees residing in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and find durable solutions to their problems.
The group was informed by the chief minister that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s residents have been welcoming their Afghan brothers and sisters into the province for a number of decades. He continued by saying that over 300,000 refugees willingly returned to their native country as part of the process of repatriating illegal immigrants.
He claimed that the province government has provided all facilities to immigrants returning to their home country voluntarily, in accordance with local customs. He said that the humanitarian side of the situation had been handled completely and that throughout the refugees’ voluntary return procedure, not a single grievance had been raised.
According to Mr. Gandapur, the federal government made the decision to return undocumented immigrants to their home countries, and it will be carried out. He did, however, state that immigrants with legitimate documentation would not face any difficulties remaining in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
In order to better assist the immigrants residing in the province, he also emphasized the necessity of bolstering the collaboration between the provincial government and UNHCR. In that sense, he declared, the province administration was determined to provide UNHCR with full support.
The chief minister stated that by teaching them technical skills, Afghan refugees—who are currently living in Pakistan, namely in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa—can become more independent and gainful employment.
He continued by saying that the provincial government might assist in providing training to Afghan youngsters at its centers set up for technical education if UNHCR intended to launch a program in that area.
Speaking about the problems with electricity in refugee camps, Mr. Gandapur stated that the greatest solution to stop power load shedding in those camps was to provide solar energy. In that regard, he said, the province government was prepared to work with UNHCR.
The chief minister informed the group that efforts were being made by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government to relocate the displaced residents of the combined districts.
In order to assist the government with the relocation of those displaced individuals, he continued, donor organizations such as the UNHCR were needed.
The delegates expressed gratitude to Pakistan, particularly the government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, for providing long-term shelter to Afghan refugees. They praised the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government’s help in facilitating the voluntary repatriation of foreign nationals to their home countries.
They promised better coordination between the provincial administration and themselves in order to find long-term solutions to the issues facing refugees residing in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and to provide them with the greatest amenities possible.
