ISLAMABAD, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday announced his decision to allow registered Afghan refugees to open bank accounts in Pakistan which refugees say will help them do business.
Pakistan presently hosts nearly 1.4 million registered Afghan refugees who hold Proof of Registration or PoR cards, which allow them to stay legally in the country, according to the UN refugee agency.
Besides, there are also about one million refugees, who have been documented but not entitled to have PoR cards.
Last year the government extended the stay of the registered refugees until June 2019.
Prime Minister Khan tweeted that he has "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."
"This should have been done a long time ago," he twitted.
A council of the Afghan refugees in Pakistan welcomed the prime minister's decision, saying the move would help the Afghan businessmen open accounts and transfer and receive money through Pakistani banks.
Muhammad Sherzad, a member of the refugees' council in the Pakistani city of Peshawar, told Xinhua on the phone that allowing refugees to open accounts in Pakistan was their primary demand.
"The Afghan refugees welcome the decision as it will enable us to send money through banks. Many refugees would now keep their money in banks, who previously did not have the permission to open accounts in Pakistan," Sherzad said.