PESHAWAR, May 29: The United Nations High Commission of Refugees (UNHCR) and the Afghan Commissionerate are considering a plan to relocate some 20,000 refugees from Shalman camp, Khyber Agency, to another site, apparently due to shortage of drinking water in the area, officials said.

An official of the UN refugee agency said the two bodies would take a final decision in the next few days to close Shalman camp, some 70km from here, along the Afghan border.

The UN body shifted destitute settlers from Jalozai and other makeshift camps near Peshawar to Shalman camp about an year ago. Following the US-led war on Afghanistan, the Pakistan government and the UNHCR set up nine camps in tribal areas along the Durand Line to accommodate fresh arrivals.

The officials said the government had identified the Katcha Garhi camp, Peshawar, and Kurram Agency as the possible sites where the 20,000 refugees of Shalman camp would be relocated.

Initially, aid agencies had made arrangements to supply water to the refugees from the nearby water springs, but later the local people refused to allow the refugees to utilize their meagre water resources.

The government recently withdrew its decision to close the Katcha Garhi camp by the end of June and gave one year more extension to the settlers of the camp on humanitarian grounds.