ISLAMABAD, Oct. 3 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan has asked Afghan refugees in a tribal region to leave the area in three days, the News Network International (NNI) news agency reported Friday.

    The refugees were asked to leave the Bajaur tribal region bordering Afghanistan but the authorities did not give any reason for the repatriation, said the report.

    Security forces have been fighting militants in Bajaur and the authorities believe that elements among the Afghan refugees are supporting the militants, according to NNI.

    Pakistan has already closed down all refugees camp in Bajaur but thousands of refugees are still living in rented houses.

    An order signed by deputy chief of the local administration Haseeb said that action would be taken against the Afghan refugees if they failed to leave the area by the deadline.

    The order also asked the local tribesmen to vacate houses and shops given to the Afghan refugees on rent.

    The NNI quoted local people as saying that Afghan refugees had started leaving Khar, the center of Bajaur before the deadline was passed.