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17:19 GMT, Wednesday, 19 November 2008

In pictures: Afghan refugees

Afghan refugees load their belongings at the Kacha Ghari UNHCR repatriation centre near Peshawar, Pakistan

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The UN refugee agency is holding talks in Afghanistan aimed at mobilising support for the return and reintegration of Afghan refugees from Pakistan and Iran.

An Afghan displaced woman with her children inside their tent in Kabul

An Afghan displaced woman with her children inside their tent in Kabul

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About five million refugees have returned from Pakistan and Iran since the fall of the Taleban in 2001, but some three million still remain there.

An Afghan displaced woman holds her child at a camp for displaced people in Kabul

An Afghan displaced woman holds her child at a camp for displaced people in Kabul

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In camps set up for those returning, it is possible to find three generations - from the children who think it is all a fascinating game, to the old men and women who remember Soviet occupation.

An Afghan child refugee (C) waits at the Kacha Ghari UNHCR repatriation centre near Peshawar, Pakistan

An Afghan child refugee (C) waits at the Kacha Ghari UNHCR repatriation centre near Peshawar, Pakistan

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Since the fall of the Taleban, refugees have been under increasing pressure from host countries to return home. Those going back have swelled their homeland's population by an estimated 20%.

UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres inspects a camp for displaced Afghan people in Kabul

UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres inspects a camp for displaced Afghan people in Kabul

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UN refugee agency (UNHCR) chief Antonio Guterres says that some people are unable to go home because of continuing insecurity. "They have to live in areas where there is nothing."

Returned Afghan refugees wait for a free medical check at a mobile clinic at a refugee camp in Nangarhar province

Returned Afghan refugees wait for a free medical check at a mobile clinic at a refugee camp in Nangarhar province

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The UNHCR says more than 30,000 recent returnees are competing for jobs and resources with many internally displaced Afghans.

Returned Afghan refugees offer prayers at a refugee camp in Chamtala in Nangarhar province

Returned Afghan refugees offer prayers at a refugee camp in Chamtala in Nangarhar province

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The situation has been made worse because thousands of Pakistanis have fled into Afghanistan this year because of deteriorating security in Pakistan's tribal regions.

An Afghan refugee makes a temporary mud shelter at a refuge camp in Kabul

An Afghan refugee makes a temporary mud shelter at a refuge camp in Kabul

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With the rise of the Pakistani Taleban and militant Islamic groups along the Pakistan side of the border, the UN says it now appears that parts of Afghanistan are safer for families.

An Afghan displaced boy

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Pakistan announced the plan to repatriate the refugees early in 2007, when relations with Afghanistan were particularly tense. Many did not want to go, arguing they would face a hard life if they did so.

An Afghan refuge girl outside her makeshift home at a refugee camp in Kabul

An Afghan refuge girl outside her makeshift home at a refugee camp in Kabul

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The repatriation has been described as one of the largest of its kind in the world. But the returning refugees face an uncertain future: Afghanistan has been ravaged by war for the last 30 years.

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Related to this story:
UN in talks on Afghan returnees (19 Nov 08 | South Asia )
UN warns Pakistan on refugee plan (18 Apr 08 | South Asia )
Pakistanis flee into Afghanistan (07 Jan 08 | South Asia )
Iran urged to halt refugee return (11 Oct 07 | South Asia )
Afghan refugees' camp 'extended' (31 Aug 07 | South Asia )

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