10,000 Pakistanis had registered as Afghan refugees for dollars from UN

THE SCAM BEGAN AFTER UNHCR STARTED GIVING $400 EACH TO AFGHAN REFUGEES RETURNING TO THEIR HOMELAND UNDER A VOLUNTARY REPATRIATION SCHEME

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) has tracked over 10,000 Pakistanis who registered themselves as Afghan refugees in order to collect dollar stipends.

The scam came to light as the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) had set a $400 payment for each Afghan refugee returning to their homeland under a voluntary repatriation scheme.

Nadra chairman Usman Yusuf Mobeen told a Parliamentary briefing that 10,000 Pakistani nationals misused the scheme and cheated the United Nations.

Mobeen said many of the culprits were caught by Nadra’s system when the card holders sought to obtain national ID cards after their previous IDs were blocked.

The Nadra chairman said around one million Afghan refugees had been repatriated to Afghanistan under the voluntary repatriation scheme.