ISLAMABAD: UN urged to increase relief activities in Afghanistan
By Our Reporter
ISLAMABAD, Nov 5: Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Northern Areas Abbas Sarfraz Khan has urged the United Nations agencies to increase their activities in Afghanistan to provide relief to more and more people before arrival of winter season.
Presiding over a meeting of representatives of donor countries, UN agencies and NGOs here on Monday, the minister said it was necessary to ensure that about 2,000 tons of food items should be transported daily to the internally displaced persons in Afghanistan.
The minister briefed the participants on the government’s efforts to provide relief to the Afghan people. He said the present crisis was not new for many displaced Afghans, who had been living in camps for the past about two years due to drought condition in several parts of their country.
He said world should not forget that three million Afghan refugees had already been living in Pakistan for the last 20 years. “The world community must also keep this figure in mind while taking any kind of relief measures for the Afghan people,” he added. He hoped the international community would fulfil its commitment regarding provision of aid and various kinds of assistance to the internally and externally displaced Afghan people.
Pakistan, he said, had neither capability nor a desire to accommodate more refugees in the country. The minister, therefore, stressed the need for a third country re-settlement.
He said it would be difficult to justify the military operation in Afghanistan with the increasing civilian death toll. The minister said the world community and the UN should also focus on future re-construction of Afghanistan and a big economic package for this unfortunate country.
Later, the minister also held a meeting with Foreign Minister of Norway Vidar Helgesen to discuss the issue of Afghan refugees.
