A U.S State Department official has reportedly said that Washington wants Pakistan to keep its borders with Afghanistan open for Afghan refugees.In a place like Pakistan, it will be significant that their borders remain open. "Obviously, if people go north or if they go via Iran to Turkey, they have an opportunity both to enter the country as well as to register with either the government or with UNHCR," the official added. Besides Pakistan, the State Department has also asked Turkey to allow Afghans to stay in the country for up to 14 months before they are re-settled in the US.

The new programme, announced on August 2, applies to those who worked on US-funded projects and to Afghans employed by a US-based media or non-governmental organisation (NGO). During his visit to Washington earlier this week, Pakistan's National Security Adviser Moeed Yusuf said that arrangements should be made to keep displaced Afghans inside their country instead of pushing them into his country.

"We do not accept the irresponsible decision taken by the US without consulting our country," the Turkish Ministry Foreign Ministry said in a statement issued in Ankara."If the US wants to take these people to its country, it is possible to transfer them directly to their country by planes." There are two countries that can play a pivotal role in this resettlement plan, Iran and Pakistan, said the news report.

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