PESHAWAR, May 5: Participants of a panel presentation on Wednesday cautioned that the proposed stoppage of United Nations assistance for Afghan refugees could lead to humanitarian crises in the host countries.
The Afghan Women's Resource Centre and the Commission for Refugee Women and Children organized the presentation on 'Continued need of assistance for refugees in Pakistan' at the Peshawar Press Club.
Former Human Rights Commission of Pakistan chairperson Afrasyab Khattak, former Afghan minister Babrak Shinwari and representatives of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and different non-government organizations attended the event.
The panelists observed that despite the installation of an interim government Afghanistan's socio-economic environment was not conducive to absorbing a large number of returnees.
They proposed that the UN and the international community shouldcontinue their assistance, including food aid, to the millions ofAfghan refugees living in Pakistan, Iran and other countries.
They expressed concern over the proposed relocation of refugee families from the tribal areas to other camps in Pakistan. They said some provisions of the agreement among Pakistan, Afghanistan and the UNHCR were against the ground realities.
They said the UN should review the three-year timeframe set for the return of refugees from Pakistan. The panelists said the UNHCR did not treat Afghan refugees in accordance with international norms.
Refugees in other countries got more financial benefits than the Afghan refugees in Pakistan, they said and demanded that the UN shouldabolish such discrimination.
They asked the government to issue temporary identity cards to the refugees living in camps and urban areas. They urged the UNHCR and the Islamabad administration to resolve the problems of 25,000Afghan refugees living in the Kutcha Basti camp.
