ISLAMABAD, Oct 12: Pakistan on Friday rejected UNHCR’s claim of red tapism in preventing the field teams of the refugee agency from getting access to border areas.

Talking to Dawn, federal minister for Kashmir affairs and Northern Areas division, Abbas Sarfaraz, said Pakistani authorities are not resorting to red tapism but instead have been facilitating the UNHCR right from the beginning to prevent any obstacles in their relief work.

“The UN staff itself is feeling threatened of visiting the border areas for security concerns and a number of their international staff have left the forward areas,” the minister claimed.

Earlier in the day, a press release issued by UNHCR, while expressing growing concern and frustration over numerous obstacles preventing it from making urgent preparations for a possible influx of refugees in countries bordering Afghanistan accused Pakistan of red-tapism.

“In Pakistan, red tape and security concerns prevent UNHCR field teams from getting access to border areas to monitor possible population movements or from offering immediate assistance to any new arrivals.” The same accusation was repeated in a joint press conference of UN agencies by the UNHCR regional public information officer Central and South West Asia, Yousaf Hassan.

The federal minister, elaborating the Pakistani stance on relief operations of UNHCR said that the over riding concern of Pakistan is to get the aid delivered. “It is immaterial for us whether the aid is delivered by the international staff of UNHCR or the local staff.” Pakistan has been asking UNHCR if the international staff feels threatened in operating in the border areas, they should hire the local staff, the minister said, adding, Pakistani authorities helped UNHCR identify more than 100 sites for establishing refugee camps in the Northern Areas and Balochistan.

Interior ministry officials said that the government has assured protection to UN staff in the tribal areas and have even offered to escort them. He said: “It was the UN Resident Coordinator who himself directed the UN staff to stay home in view of the security situation.”

The UNHCR officials visited only a few sites for establishing the refugee camps when the situation was normal and not all the sites identified by the Pakistani authorities, the official said.

Expressing frustration over Afghan aid obstacles, UNHCR said that preparations for a potential mass influx of Afghans in the border areas of Pakistan remain virtually stalled due to the fragile security situation and the limited ability of movement for the international staff.

In Quetta, where UNHCR’s office was attacked and damaged on Monday, UNHCR said it was unable to resume its work despite the provincial authorities’ expressions of regret and assurances of greater security. “Staff have been restricted from visiting field locations or monitoring border crossings because of security concerns.”

In response to a question, UNHCR spokesman said that at least 2000 refugees are crossing over into Pakistan every day through the porous border with Afghanistan.

UNHCR said that the insistence of Pakistan government that any new camps be built in dry, remote and insecure tribal areas along the Afghan border are compounding the problems. While recognizing the enormous burden that Pakistan has by hosting some 2 million Afghans over the years, UNHCR continues to press for more suitable sites further inland, the refugee agency said.

UNHCR said that initially more than 100 possible reception sites had been identified by the Pakistan authorities in the border areas with about 100 in NWFP and six in Balochistan. “UNHCR had evaluated most of these sites and found 11 in the NWFP and 3 in Balochistan to be suitable.” Of the 11 allocated sites, six were later withdrawn by NWFP authorities without explanation even though work had already begun on these sites.