KABUL: Visiting United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Filippo Grandi urged international community to remain committed to Afghanistan, calling for greater support to displaced and returning refugees.
The remarks came as an international conference on Afghanistan is expected to be held next week in Geneva, Switzerland. At the end of his four-day visit to Afghanistan, Grandi also called on the Afghan people to agree to a political settlement and end the devastating war which has negatively impacted the lives of millions of Afghans.
“The intra-Afghan dialogue provides a unique and historic opportunity to save lives and end the misery of displacement which ushering in a new era of peace and prosperity,” he told reporters. On Sunday, Grandi met with Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani, discussing issues pertaining to the Afghan refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs), according to Afghanistan’s presidential office.
They also discussed the Afghan peace process, voluntary repatriation of Afghan refugees from Iran and Pakistan after peace as well as the Afghan government’s programs developed to address the needs of the displaced people, the office said in a statement on its website. The UNHCR chief also met with Chairman of Afghanistan’s High Council for National Reconciliation Abdullah Abdullah and other Afghan officials during his visit. More than 1 million Afghans have fled home due to conflicts and worsening security situation since 2001 in the country, and millions of Afghan refugees are still living in neighboring and other countries in the world. –Agencies
