The voluntary repatriation programme is carried out under a Tripartite Agreement between the United Nations Human Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), Pakistan and Afghanistan, which is expected to expire in March 2006. This is the last full year of repatriation under the existing agreement.
According to a statement, UNHCR acting head in Pakistan, Michael Zwack said there had been considerable progress on both economic and political fronts in Afghanistan over the past three years and millions of Afghans had decided to return home.
The repatriation programme is entirely separate from the census of Afghans in Pakistan, started on February 23. The census, which is being carried out by Pakistani government with the UNHCR assistance, will provide the first detailed information about Afghan population in Pakistan.
The census information will be used by the Pakistan government and the UNHCR to develop the policies for those Afghans, who are opting not to repatriate, by the end of the Tripartite Agreement.
The UNHCR offices in Islamabad, Karachi, Quetta and Peshawar, plus mobile teams, will register Afghans in various parts of the country, who ask to repatriate.
Before leaving Pakistan through the Chaman or Torkham border points, registered returning refugees will undergo an 'iris' recognition test at the UNHCR offices in Quetta or Peshawar.
The machines detect anyone who has previously been through the procedure and received assistance, ensuring aid is going to those who intend to repatriate.
The UNHCR is providing a travel grant ranging from three dollars to 30 dollars per person for returning to Afghanistan, varying with the distance to their destination. They will also receive a cash grant of 12 dollars each - increased from eight dollars last year that helps their reintegration in Afghanistan.
In addition to the 2.3 million who repatriated from Pakistan, more than 1.1 million Afghans have also gone home from Iran, 781,000 of them with the UNHCR assistance and the rest on their own.