ISLAMABAD, Oct 30: As many as 5.5 million Afghans are in desperate need of food provisions to avoid imminent starvation, speakers at a workshop on ‘Afghan war and food security concerns’ said.

The day-long workshop arranged by the Sustainable Agriculture Action Group (SAAG) on Tuesday was held at a local hotel. Dr. Shahid Zia, Khadim Hussain and Sarwar Bari Imam acted as moderators of the workshop.

The US-led military action in Afghanistan was condemned in the recommendations arrived on the occasion. The recommendation stated that the continued bombing was increasing food insecurity in Afghanistan, besides forcing people to leave their homes, hence it should be stopped immediately.

Speaking at a news conference after the event, Dr Zia said international humanitarian organizations, who had promised to provide relief goods to the people of Afghanistan, found it impossible to transport food to the needy people in the event of incessant bombing.

He called upon the World Food Programme and other international donor agencies to press the American and British governments to halt the military action in view of the food scarcity situation.

Dr Zia said notwithstanding the three-year drought, the Taliban authorities exacerbated the problem by not paying attention to food productions or livestock.

He also pointed out that the next WTO meeting in November at Doha should take up the question of food scarcity in countries of the South, with particular attention to the needs of the people in Afghanistan.

For this reason, the agreement on agriculture needs to be reviewed in the context of the requirements of Southern countries, which have received a raw deal in the agreement. In addition to this, the WTO meeting should also pay attention to food insecurity issue after the military action.

Dr. Zia said the war in Afghanistan was affecting Pakistan as well, as a large number of displaced Afghans were coming here, putting burden on the country’s food resources.

He said the aid provided by the international agencies for Afghan refugees had been insufficient, hence PaKistan was also being pressed to meet the requirements, despite having meagre resources.

This was increasing prices of goods and services in the country, he said, adding that the common man in Pakistan was facing difficulties due to increased prices.

After the workshop, SAAG organized a demonstration, calling immediate end to the American strikes. — Jonaid Iqbal