KARACHI, June 9: An Illushyn-76 transport aircraft chartered by the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) left Karachi on Wednesday with 7,000 Pakistan- manufactured tents purchased to house Sudanese refugees fleeing to neighbouring Chad.

The flight is the ninth in the past two weeks to carry tents from Pakistan, and follows another flight from Karachi to N'djamena on Tuesday evening. The UNHCR has frequently bought tents for emergency operations from manufacturers in Pakistan, with contracts awarded on the basis of competitive bidding. Additional tents were moved from Pakistan earlier this year.

UNHCR has had a long relationship with Pakistan. In addition to its role as a source of materials used worldwide for refugees, Pakistan had also hosted millions of Afghan refugees for decades since they first fled the war in Afghanistan in 1979.

"Pakistan has worked closely with the UNHCR for many years in humanitarian crises, helping refugees both through government co-operation and commercial contracts," said Guenet Guebre-Christos, head of the UN Refugee Agency in Pakistan. -APP