Fresh Afghan influx into Pakistan

The guns have been silenced - but the influx continues

By Susannah Price BBC Islamabad correspondent

The UN Refugee Agency says thousands of Afghan refugees are continuing to pour in to Pakistan despite the end of the conflict.

What's more worrisome is that the new arrivals say that many more Afghans are behind them

Kris Janowski, UNHCR spokesman

Aid workers say many are from the largest ethnic group in Afghanistan the Pashtuns, who say they are being harassed by other groups.

Others are victims of the continuing drought.

Most are now stranded at the Pakistani border crossing of Chaman, waiting to be allowed into a UN transit camp.

Swelling numbers

The UN Refugee Agency had been planning to help send many of the 2.5m Afghans currently in Pakistan back home, following the end of the conflict, and downfall of the Taleban.

400 families arrive everyday

And they certainly did not expect a flood of refugees coming the other way.

Nearly 20,000 Afghans have crossed the border into Pakistan in the past 10 days - a dramatic increase over previous weeks.

They mostly come from the largest ethnic group in Afghanistan, the Pashtuns, and have been living in the north where they are in the minority.

The new arrivals said they have been harassed, and in some cases, attacked by members of other ethnic groups such as the Tajiks and Uzbeks, and had travelled for many days to Pakistan.

Difficult conditions

Some said they had been accused of belonging to the Taleban, who had their main support base in the largely Pashtun south.

There are also large numbers of nomads who can no longer survive the continuing drought that has wiped out their animals.

Most of the refugees are stranded in makeshift shelters, or out in the open on the dusty wasteland just inside Pakistan.

They are waiting to be registered by the UN and moved to a nearby transit camp.

The UN says it is registering 400 families a day, and is providing blankets, water and high-protein biscuits for those still waiting.

A quarter of a million refugees have come to Pakistan since 11 September, mostly because of the drought, bombing, or general insecurity.