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Refugees sent back to Afghanistan

There are around 15,000 refugees stranded in no-man's land near the Chaman border crossing

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- Under an agreement with the Taliban, Pakistan has begun sending illegal refugees back to Afghanistan.

The Taliban announced Tuesday it was setting up tent camps within Afghanistan's border close to Pakistan to help ease a worsening refugee crisis.

Pakistan, which insists it cannot handle a continued influx of refugees, said an agreement was reached with the Taliban to accept the refugees' return, with Foreign Ministry spokesman Riaz M. Khan confirming the arrangement on Tuesday, the Associated Press reported.

Refugees holding valid documentation will be allowed to stay, but authorities have already started rounding up and sending back those it considers unable to remain in Pakistan.

A Pakistani official told AP that refugees were being rounded up in the hundreds in and around Quetta to be sent back to Afghanistan.

In the past few days, Pakistan has allowed around 5,000 Afghans to enter but has since resealed its borders.

No-man's land

VIDEO CNN's Amanda Kibel examines the people who are the most affected by war and Taliban rule in Afghanistan (October 22) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)   EXTRA INFORMATION Map: Afghan refugees  Afghanistan's refugee crisis

With the onset of winter only a few weeks away, thousands of Afghans are caught in no-man's land, stranded between the country they are trying to flee but unable to cross Pakistan's tightly controlled border.

As many as 15,000 are believed to be near the Chamen border crossing near Quetta.

Thousands were allowed to enter Pakistan last week in the biggest single day exodus since strikes began in Afghanistan, but the crossing is now closed.

Guards at the crossing have been fighting back the crowds, prompting Pakistan and the Taliban to establish new camps within Afghanistan.

One camp will be built in Spinboldak about 24 kilometers (15 miles) from the border. A second camp will be only three kilometers from the border.

The United Nations has warned that as many as one million refugees are likely to flee Afghanistan, but as yet such vast numbers have failed to materialize. Fearing their safety, most are leaving the larger cities like Kabul and Kandahar to other parts of the country.

U.N. condemns decision

Aid agencies say they are racing against time to get camps set up

The U.N.'s refugee agency condemned the decision to set up the camps in Afghanistan, saying the security and safety of the refugees could not be guaranteed and that it would be difficult to get aid to them.

The agency was preparing a "temporary staging site" about a mile from the Chaman border crossing to provide urgent humanitarian care to those most in need.

The U.N. has appealed to Pakistan to open up its borders to allow more refugees to enter so they have access to aid and shelter.

But Pakistan has continued to press international aid agencies to focus more on assisting displaced people within Afghanistan's border.

"Our point of view has always been that we must establish camps across the border in Afghanistan and all assistance to the refugees must be given there, so that people go back to Afghanistan instead of making them comfortable here in Pakistan," Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf told CNN.

"Pakistan is prepared to accept people who are old, injured, children, some women ... but we cannot open the floodgates for all refugees flowing into Pakistan," he said.

Meanwhile the U.N. World Food Programme (WFP) and the U.N. Children's Fund (UNICEF) were bringing supplies to Afghans stranded on the Afghan side of the border with Pakistan.

The WFP said that the people were "in pretty bad shape" and only a third had shelter materials with them.

High-protein biscuits, drinking water and sweaters were also being distributed and health checks conducted on children.