ISLAMABAD, 31 March 2021 – The Government of Pakistan, together with UNHCR, has decided to temporarily postpone the commencement of the “Documentation Renewal and Information Verification Exercise” (DRIVE) due to a third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The card renewal and verification exercise for Afghan refugees was set to formally begin on 1 April 2021.

The Government of Pakistan and UNHCR remain committed to the DRIVE exercise, which will be undertaken as soon as conditions permit.

Registered Afghan refugees holding Proof of Registration (PoR) cards with an expiry date of 31 December 2015 will be informed of the commencement of the exercise in due course.

Afghan refugees may call the following helpline 0800-11122 for more details. They can also visit UNHCR’s website (www.unhcrpk.org/drive) for updates.Pakistan hosts more than 1.4 million registered Afghan refugees that are PoR cardholders.