ISLAMABAD: Afghan refugees across Pakistan were all praise for Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday following his decision to allow registered individuals to open bank accounts in the country.

“I am at a loss of words to describe my sentiments over the positive decision taken by the prime minister,” Fatima, 50, a registered Afghan woman who runs an elementary school for refugees in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, said.

She added that the initiative has been “a long-standing demand of us refugees, especially those involved in business activities. It will surely bring the needed comfort to our lives.” Only refugess with a valid, state-issued ‘Proof of Registration’ (PoR) ID can open an account.

Carpet business owner and a documented refugee, Abdul Rehman said he welcomed the decision on behalf of the entire merchant community in Attock. “This is a pleasant surprise. It’s the first time this has been done for the Afghan refugees,” he said, adding that “it has brought so much joy that since yesterday we all have been sharing PM Khan’s message on social media”.

Appreciating the premier’s announcement on Monday wherein Khan said that he had “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”, Afghan refugees told Arab News that they hoped the government would take it a step further by announcing plans to grant them a citizenship status, too.

They were speaking in particular about those Afghan refugees who were born in Pakistan and whose PoR cards are set to expire in June. The ‘PoR’ cards provide a temporary legal status, freedom of movement and international protection under the 1951 UN Refugee Convention.

Afghans have long complained about harassment and denial of work-related and other opportunities due to the absence of citizenship rights, even for those who have been born in Pakistan or spent decades living and working there.

Pakistan is home to more than 2.7 million Afghans, of which nearly 1.4 million are legally recognized as refugees.

Additionally, 880,000 hold Afghan Citizen Cards and are registered as migrants, while roughly 500,000 remain undocumented and don’t meet the refugee criteria, Qaiser Khan Afridi, spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees told Arab News.

Meanwhile, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi also welcomed the decision and commended Khan, the government and the people of Pakistan “for taking this important step”.

Underscoring the positive impact that the decision would have on Pakistan’s economy, a UNHCR representative in Pakistan, Ruvendrini Menikdiwela said that opening of bank accounts will allow refugees’ extended family members — living abroad – to send remittances through formal banking channels, which will help increase the foreign exchange reserves in Pakistan.

A formal notification to financial institutions is expected to be issued by the central bank to begin the process of allowing registered Afghan refugees to enroll as its customers, according to the Ministry of State Affairs and Frontier Regions (SAFRON).

“The standard operating procedure on this matter will be issued by the State Bank,” Muhammad Afzal, Secretary SAFRON said, adding that “only authorized banks will be notified”.

The move, he said, will ease business transactions for Afghan refugees that have lived in Pakistan for nearly 40 years and encourage transparency in matters pertaining to allegations of Afghan involvement in money laundering. It would also fulfill international obligations which requires all financial transactions to be channeled through the banking system, an issue raised by the Financial Action Task Force for Pakistan.

“They will not need to utilize second degree method or seek a proxy to maintain their business prospects,” he said.