ISLAMABAD: The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has stepped up efforts to support hundreds of Afghan refugee and Pakistani families affec­ted by massive rains and flooding in Khyber Pakhtun­khwa and Sindh provinces.

In a statement issued here on Friday, the UN refugee agency says it is working with local authorities and partners to assist the most vulnerable families badly affected by the flooding. Core relief items are being distributed among affected Afghan refugees and Pakistani families, it said.

According to the government’s estimates, 190 people were killed and thousands of homes were washed away in flooding across the country.

In Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, the UNHCR, Commissione­rate for Afghan Refugees, (CAR) and refugee elders co­n­ducted a joint assessm­ent. Emergency supplies of tents, blankets, tarpaulins and kitchen sets are being pro­vided to Afghan refugees in nine districts of the province.

The UNHCR has already handed over 2,000 blankets, 2,000 sleeping mates, 1,000 jerry cans and 1,000 plastic sheets to the National Disa­ster Management Authority for onward distribution in Kar­a­chi and other parts of Sindh.

“These emergency supplies will enable Afghan refugees and Pakistani families to meet their immediate needs,” said Noriko Yoshida, the UNHCR representative in Pakistan.

Ms Yoshida said that Pakistan had witnessed multiple challenges this year such as severe rainfall, flooding as well as Covid-19 pandemic. “Our support and efforts are in solidarity with Pakistan and its people who have been hosting Afghan refugees for more than 40 years,” she said.

Published in Dawn, September 12th, 2020