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ISLAMABAD, Oct 16: The UNHCR on Tuesday claimed that more than 25,000 Afghan refugees have crossed over into Pakistan during the past month and that they are becoming “invisible” by disappearing into cities.
Speaking at a news conference, UNHCR country chief for Pakistan, Hasim Utkan, said it was an extremely welcome development that Pakistan had allowed the people in need to cross the borders.
In response to a question, he said more than 25,000 Afghans had already crossed over into Pakistan during the past one month. He said according to reports received by UNHCR the new arrivals were becoming “invisible refugees” and seemed to be disappearing into the cities.
Answering a question about security concerns of Pakistan regarding arrival of more Afghan refugees in the country, Mr Utkan said Pakistan government was afraid that undesirable elements might come over from the other side. To tackle the problem, the refugee camps are planned to be located near the borders, he said, adding, bottlenecks would be removed with full understanding between the government and the UNHCR.
Reiterating the UN policy on refugees to abide by the law of the land in which the refugees are hosted, Mr Utkan said Pakistan was hosting one of the largest refugee populations in the world and reports had been received that some Afghan refugees had been involved in creating law and order problem for the government. He said refugees had to abide by the law of the country and any threat they posed did not fit in the definition of refugees.
CONTINGENCY PLAN: According to a press release issued by the UNHCR, the refugee agency claimed to have completed detailed contingency plans for Pakistan. However, the UNHCR said that the plans would need to be constantly revised depending on circumstances.
The planning covers all sectors and takes into account the likely actors, including relevant government agencies, other UN agencies, and local and international NGOs. Pre-positioned supplies not used in Pakistan can be transferred to Afghanistan if required.
The UNHCR said that a registration system had been tailored to the particularities of the region. Hundreds of thousands of forms will be printed in Peshawar, with 100,000 due to arrive in Quetta in the coming days. Registration teams are being identified and trained to cope with the entire process, from refugee reception at the border, to installation at the sites where refugees will be allocated food, tents and other relief items.
In Quetta, the UNHCR is in the process of procuring an initial stock of items such as stoves, blankets, kerosene and used clothing, which are not yet available through the international airlifts and the daily convoys bringing in supplies from major manufacturers elsewhere in Pakistan.
The UNHCR claimed that there were enough tents (around 7,500) and plastic sheets (9,800) in UNHCR’s Quetta warehouse to provide shelter for some 100,000 people.
The press release said that the UNHCR was also planning to open warehouse premises in Chaman so that an initial supply of relief items could be stored close to the sites in Tor Tangi and Roghani.
In NWFP, some 3,500 tents are now on-hand in the Tribal Areas with a capacity to shelter some 21,000 people. Some 1,400 of these are pre-positioned at Shalman and more than 2,100 have been sent to forward areas throughout NWFP in order to ensure that any new arrivals can be immediately accommodated at the rugged border crossings.
The agency has tens of thousands of additional tents and plastic tarpaulins in its Peshawar stockpile with more shelter material, blankets and other goods arriving daily by truck deliveries from producers in Pakistan and also by airlift from Europe.
The goods can be immediately rushed into the Tribal Areas to shelter new arrivals, the press release added.
Resource constraints: The United Nations continues to face resource constraints for its humanitarian assistance operations in Afghanistan as funding is not forthcoming immediately despite donor pledges of $700 million aid.
Speaking at a news conference here on Monday, United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) Director Eric Falt said the donor pledges would take at least three months to materialise.
According to the UNHCR, the refugee agency has not received any additional substantial cash contributions from donors since Oct 8, and funding shortages are now threatening UNHCR’s ability to adequately prepare for potential population movements in the region.
The UNHCR has received only some $12 million of the estimated $50 million needed to care for an initial planning figure of 400,000 new arrivals in surrounding states in the first phase of an emergency.
Donor governments have pledged another $11 million, but these pledges have not yet been translated into cash. Donors are also providing $3.1 million worth of contributions of tents, blankets and other supplies.
Unicef, which launched an appeal for $36 million for emergency relief work, has so far received only $18 million which are insufficient, an official said while making a plea for more funding to save the lives of millions of Afghan children.
According to WFP Regional Public Affairs Officer Khalid Mansour only six per cent of the required amount has been received from the donor countries so far in response to WFP’s emergency appeal of $275 million for Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, UN Resident Coordinator for Pakistan Onder Yucer has appointed Javed Akram as humanitarian policy advisor to the UN in Peshawar.
Mr Akram served as chief of census and in the ministries of economic affairs, housing and works, and Safron.
According to UNIC director, a similar appointment would be made in Quetta.
