QUETTA, Sept 8: The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has stopped providing assistance to the Girdi Jungle and Jungle Pir Alizai refugees camps in Balochistan. UNHCR Quetta sub-office chief Shunichiro Asaba, while talking to reporters at his office on Thursday, said: “Though both the camps still exist, we have withdrawn all assistance after the government’s decision to close them,” he said and added that none of the refugees opted to shift to Mohammad Khal camp in Quetta district despite the government’s offer.

He said that the Girdi Jungle camp was located in Chaghi district while the Jungle Pir Alizai camp was in Qila Abdullah district, and they had been closed on July 31 and August 31, respectively.

Replying to a question, he said that over 3,300 Afghan students were affected with the closing of 7 schools in both the camps. “Save the Children had been running five schools in Girdi Jungle camp and two in Jungle Pir Alizai camp,” he said, adding that with the closing of the schools Afghan children were deprived of education facilities.

He said that health and water supply facilities were also withdrawn, affecting around 63,000 refugees. “The refugees of the two camps did not take benefit of the government’s offer about their shifting to Mohammad Khal camp,” he said.

He said that at present the UNHCR was providing assistance to 10 refugee camps in Balochistan.

Referring to the repatriation programme of the UNHCR, he said that the programme would be temporarily suspended from Sept 15 to 20, owing to the parliamentary election in Afghanistan.

However, he said that the UNHCR teams would continue to register Afghans willing to return to Afghanistan from Pakistan during the break.

He said that all Afghans who would be registered during that period could voluntarily repatriate upon the resumption of the repatriation programme on Sept 20.