QUETTA - The representative of the United Nation High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Pakistan, Neill Wright, visited Balochistan and had an in-depth look into the affairs concerning the UN body.During a three day trip to the province, Wright visited the UNHCR projects in Qilla Saifullah, Loralai and Ziarat, while he also held meetings with Governor Nawab Zulfiqar Ali Magsi, government officials, Afghan refugee’s elders and with some NGOs, which are the UNHCR’s implementing partners. His visits included several Refugee Affected and Hosting Areas (RAHA) initiative projects.  Wright emphasised the importance of close cooperation with the federal and provincial governments in assisting the Afghan refugees and the local communities, who have so generously hosted them for over three decades.He was accompanied on his visit to the interior of Balochistan by Deputy Commissioner for Afghan Refugees Talib Arbab.The UNHCR Representative noted that some 350,000 Afghans had been hosted in refugee villages and within local communities in Balochistan. He drew attention to the success of UNHCR and its partners in providing assistance to refugee villages in the education, health, water, and sanitation sectors. However, he also stressed the significance of the UNHCR programmes, easing the burden on social services in local communities caused by the extended stay of refugees.The UNHCR is currently implementing RAHA projects in six districts of Balochistan, with the objective of maintaining social cohesion through community development, improved livelihood and local economies, restoration of social services and infrastructure, and restoration of the environment. After visiting several RAHA projects in Loralai and Qilla Saifullah, he said, “UNHCR’s Quetta Sub Office, through its successful RAHA projects, has helped to improve the standard of living in refugee affected and hosting areas.”Wright described how the RAHA initiative was one part of a broader regional Solutions Strategy for Afghan Refugees that was developed by the governments of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran, and was endorsed by the international conference in Geneva in early May 2012.“The Solutions Strategy aims to support voluntary repatriation, increase sustainable reintegration opportunities in Afghanistan, and provide assistance to the neighbouring host countries. The UNHCR continues to support voluntary repatriation as the preferred durable solution for most of the world’s refugees, and remains committed to ensuring that such returns remain voluntary, safe and orderly. So far this year UNHCR has supported the return of over 9,900 Afghan refugees from Balochistan alone.” The new Head of UNHCR Quetta, Charles Lynch, said, “The UNHCR Sub Office in Quetta will increasingly be able to provide information on the new projects being implemented under the Solutions Strategy in Afghanistan, and will continue to facilitate voluntary repatriation.”“The return process is entirely voluntary, and every person opting to return must be able to make a well-informed decision. The UN body has set up four Voluntary Returns Centres (VRCs) in Pakistan to help as many Afghans return home as possible. The VRCs, including the one in Baleli, will remain operational throughout the year.”The commissioner for Afghan refugees said the international community must play its promised role in restoring peace in Afghanistan, so that the process of organised, voluntary repatriation of Afghan refugees could be completed.“In the meantime, Pakistan has welcomed these Afghan refugees and hosted them, providing them with the necessary accommodation, food, health, education services and security,” he added.Pakistan has been generously hosting large numbers of refugees for  more than thirty years, and the Government is understandably hoping that in 2012 and beyond the still significant numbers of refugees will finally find a solution, mostly through opting to return to their home country.