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This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Ariane Rummery to whom quoted text may be attributed at today's press briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.

2016 saw a surge in the return of Afghan refugees from Pakistan, which has been hosting large numbers of Afghan refugees for four decades. More than 370,000 registered Afghan refugees returned home from Pakistan in 2016 a 12 year high compared to just over 58,000 the year before. Pakistan continues to host some 1.3 million registered refugees.

UNHCR has just completed an analysis of returnee monitoring data to better understand the background and current situation of refugee returnees in Afghanistan. The study was based on face-to-face interviews with 4,285 people at their point of arrival and telephone interviews with some 1,300 returnees. It was based on random sampling after people had been back for three months.

According to the data, refugees present multiple interlinked factors influencing their decision to return. These include economic hardship, harassment, fear of arrest and deportation in Pakistan with marked differences between the first and second halves of 2016. In the first six months of 2016, 73 per cent of returning refugees cited economic hardship as a key reason for their return while only 41 per cent mentioned this in November. In the latter half of the year, factors relating to pressure by authorities, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, as well as fear of arrest and deportation figured more prominently in refugee decision-making to return home. For example, only 8 per cent cited fear of arrest and deportation as a factor in the first half of 2016, while 37 per cent mentioned it by November. Refugees also cited a perceived improvement in the security situation in some parts of Afghanistan, a reduced fear of persecution, the governments promises of land and shelter upon arrival, UNHCRs assistance package and a desire to reunite with their families as factors influencing their decisions.

The increase in returns began mid-year and peaked in October 2016, amidst a worsening environment for Afghans in Pakistan in the late summer. Several other factors were identified through our interviews with Afghans before they returned home, including:

the introduction of formal border management controls at Torkham requiring Afghans and Pakistanis to have passports and visas to enter the other country for the first time separating families, and affecting business between the two countries;

a heightened anxiety over Proof of Registration cards validity, its extension and registered Afghans future stay in Pakistan;

the enhanced implementation of Pakistans National Action Plan against terrorism affected both Pakistani and Afghan nationals. As the largest group of undocumented nationals in the country are Afghans these security operations did have a direct impact on many undocumented Afghans living in Pakistan;

the campaign of the Afghan government in Pakistan Khpal Watan, Gul Watan (home sweet home) asking Afghans to return home.

Afghans have had to make tough decisions to return or stay according to the options available to them and refugees have been impacted by the shifting regional political and security dynamics. Throughout 2016 in Pakistan, UNHCR has informed Afghans of their rights, intervened in cases of unlawful arrest and detention and worked closely with authorities at all levels when reports of harassment were received. With our partners, we have intervened in 5,895 reported cases of arrest and detention of registered Afghans in Pakistan, securing the release of almost all. The number of known arrests declined from its peak of 1,691 in August to 216 in December 2016. UNHCR continues to advocate with the Pakistani authorities for the extension of the Proof of Registration (PoR) cards for Afghan refugees beyond 2017.

UNHCR does not promote refugee returns to Afghanistan given the enduring conflict in different parts of the country and its limited absorption capacity. However, it is our clear mandate to help those who decide to return. Our monitoring survey showed the cash grant of $400 typically lasted two to three months and supported people with their initial reintegration needs back in Afghanistan. The vast majority of refugees (75 per cent) spent the cash grant on meeting their immediate humanitarian needs on food, shelter and transport. 15 per cent were able to make investments in businesses or sustainable livelihoods, 11 per cent said they could build a sustainable house.

Of those surveyed by telephone three months after their return to Afghanistan, 52 per cent said they were able to return to their province of origin. The remaining 48 per cent said they chose another province due to lack of shelter, land, livelihood opportunities or insecurity in their home areas. Despite the challenges, 93 per cent of respondents said they were warmly received by communities and 75 per cent said that three months after their repatriation they felt they had made the right decision to return.

UNHCR shares concerns that the pace of returns in 2016 far outstripped Afghanistans capacity to help people reintegrate after years in most cases decades - of refuge in Pakistan. Many of refugees returned to uncertain futures in Afghanistan. Returning refugees have to rebuild their lives amidst increasing levels of internal displacement, insecurity and levels of violence not seen since the fall of the Taliban in 2002.

UNHCR calls on the Government of Afghanistan and the international community to redouble their efforts to create conditions for sustainable returns. We note that $15.2 billion was pledged by donors in Brussels in October last year for Afghanistan. Urgent progress is needed to turn these pledges into concrete, government-led programmes that benefit all Afghans, including returning refugees, undocumented returnees, and internally displaced people.

For more information on this topic, please contact: In Geneva, Ariane Rummery, rummery@unhcr.org, +41 79 200 7617 In Pakistan, Duniya Aslam Khan, khand@unhcr.org, +92 300 501 7939 In Pakistan, Dan McNorton, mcnorton@unhcr.org, +92 51 260 08 60

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Tough choices for Afghan refugees returning home after years in exile - ReliefWeb

Petraeus said the U.S. soldiers should train Afghan security forces to stand on their own feet and defend their country

Former commander of the United States forces in Afghanistan, General David Petraeus at a meeting with the U.S. Congress Military Commission said Washingtons mission is to prevent Afghanistan from becoming a safe haven for terrorists. Petraeus said the U.S. soldiers should train Afghan security forces to stand on their own feet and defend their country. Afghans courageously struggling against the resurgent Taliban and a nascent Islamic State [Daesh] affiliate, he said. The Afghan Ministry of Defense (MoD) meanwhile said insurgents have not been eliminated and Afghanistan still needs military support from U.S. and NATO. We believe that we will defeat terrorist by the support and cooperation of the U.S. to Afghanistan and to the Afghan army, MoD deputy spokesman Mohammad Radmanish said. Meanwhile, Amrullah Saleh, former head of the National Directorate of Security (NDS) said he believes that security forces weaknesses should be recognized and removed. Security forces weaknesses should be strengthened and their strengths should be maintained. Also, the security agencies should be more flexible and the people who are in charge of the agencies, should be assessed regularly, he stated.

Original post:
US Won't Let Afghanistan To Become Safe Haven For Terrorists - TOLOnews

LONDON, United Kingdom (CMC) Former West Indies head coach, Phil Simmons has been appointed technical consultant to the Afghanistan national side.

The 53-year-old, who played 26 Tests and 143 One-Day Internationals for West Indies, will assist current head coach Lalchand Rajput, the ACB said.

Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) management considers Simmons appointment a valuable step in players capacity development, an ACB statement said. His appointment will have a great impact on team performance.

Simmons was sacked as West Indies coach last September, five months after overseeing the sides capture of an unprecedented second Twenty20 World Cup in India.

He is a former Ireland head coach and spent six years in the role before leaving in 2015 to take charge of West Indies.

The first assignment for Trinidadian Simmons will be to help oversee Afghanistans preparation for a series against Ireland in Greater Noida comprising five One-Day Internationals, three Twenty20s and a four-day ICC Intercontinental Cup fixture.

Simmons will then face another of his former teams when the Afghans take on West Indies in five ODIs and three T20s in June in the Caribbean.

Read more:
Former Windies coach to work with Afghanistan - Jamaica Observer

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The victim, [identified only as] Zarina, said from her hospital bed that her husband suddenly woke up at midnight and attacked her and cut off her ears with a [knife], reports Pajhwok Afghan News.

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My husband always treats me badly. I wasnt even allowed to visit my parents. He is a very suspicious man and often accused me of talking to strange men when I went to visit my parents, the traumatized victim, currently at a hospital in stable condition, told TOLO News.

Zarinas attacker has not been identified.

I havent committed any sin, she told BBC I dont know why my husband did this to me.

The incident took place in northern Afghanistans province of Balkh, which is located on the countrys border with Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.

Citing the victims aunt, identified only as Hamid, TOLO reports that Zarina married when she was only 14, but BBC reports that she married a year earlier.

Zarina told BBC that relations with her husband were not good.

I will no longer live with him, revealed Zarina. She hasdemanded her husbands arrest and prosecution.

Police told reporters the husband absconded following the attack.

Her account is the latest in a series of high-profile domestic abuse incidents and cases of violence against women in Afghanistan, reports BBC.

Since the U.S. military removed the Taliban regime, which stripped women of all human rights, the American government has invested tens of millions in taxpayer funds to improve conditions for women in the country.

U.S. troops dethroned the Taliban in late 2001. Nevertheless, incidents of heinous attacks against women continue across the country.

BBC notes:

In January 2016, a young woman, Reza Gul had her nose cut off by her husband in the remote Ghormach district of north-western Faryab province.

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In September 2014, a man cut off part of his wifes nose with a kitchen knife, in central Daykundi Province, according to police. It is not clear whether he was ever caught.

In 2010, Time magazine featured the case of 18-year-old Aisha on its front page. Her husband mutilated the young woman,cutting off her nose and ears as punishment for running away.

Efforts by the Afghan government to introduce laws to protect women from domestic violence have failed.

Former Afghan President Karzai was either unable or unwilling to implement legislation to protect women after it had been approved by parliament.

Despite allegedly working with his wife to improve the condition of women in the country, the current Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has yet to sign legislation to protect women and children from violence even though it has been passed by parliament.

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Afghanistan: Jealous Man Chops Wife's Ears Off - Breitbart News

"You guys are literally right in the thick of it, and to be able to carry on and operate at a really high percentage and be on your game the whole time, you need to come back and just get rid of all that - it's unnecessary baggage."

He added: "We're all human, we're not machines, despite a lot of people in certain jobs having to think and behave like machines in order to get the best out of you - I accept that - but it's not weakness, it's strength to be able to come forward, deal with it, move on and be a better person."

He alsomet Alexandra Turp, 24, an emergency medical dispatcher in the emergency operations centre, and allocator Katie Shrimpton, 28, who also acts as LINC worker, a voluntary network of staff who listen to and support their peers. The acronym stands forListening, Informal, Non-judgmental and Confidential.

Ms Turp told the Princeabout an incident she had to deal with in October when she took a call about a member of the public who wasn't breathing.

Original post:
Prince Harry shares horrors of Afghanistan with ambulance workers - Telegraph.co.uk