Islamabad (Web Desk): World Refugee Day is being observed across the globe including Pakistan today (Thursday), to honour the courage, strength and determination of refugees who are forced to flee their homeland under threat of persecution, conflict and violence.
This year's theme of the day is ‘Solidarity with Refugees."
Pakistan continues to be one of the world’s largest refugee hosting countries, providing safety to millions of people forced to flee their countries.
These include mainly Afghan refugees holding Proof of Registration, besides a small number of refugees and asylum-seekers from other countries such as Myanmar, Yemen, Somalia and Syria.
According to the United Nations (UN), World Refugee Day falls each year on 20 June and is dedicated to refugees around the globe.
World Refugee Day was held globally for the first time on 20 June 2001 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees. It was originally known as Africa Refugee Day, before the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) officially designated it as an international day in December 2000.