ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday asked authorities to allow legally registered Afghan refugees to open bank accounts and become part of the country's formal economy.
Around three million Afghan refugees are living in Pakistan and about half of them are registered as refugees and allowed legally to live and work while others are unregistered and considered illegal foreigners.
"I have issued instructions today that Afghan refugees who are registered can open bank accounts and from now onwards they can participate in the formal economy of the country," Khan tweeted.
He said this should have been done a long time ago.
Majority of Afghan refugees fled to Pakistan in 1980s after the Soviet invasion of their country.
Pakistan has been working with UNHCR for their repatriation but the plan to resettle them is slow as the refugees are not willing to go back due to security reasons.
Khan started debate about giving citizenship to these refugees after he came to power last year.