ISLAMABAD, Nov 3: President Gen Pervez Musharraf on Saturday again urged the United States to halt air strikes in Afghanistan during Ramazan to avoid their “negative impact”.

“When I meet US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, I would stress the need for suspending bombing in Ramazan so that air strikes do not carry a negative impact,” he said.

Talking to reporters, the president maintained that there was a need to halt military activities in Afghanistan, at least during Ramazan. “I would take up this matter with the Americans.”

Gen Musharraf launched the President’s Fund for Afghan Refugees. He presided over a meeting of international donors and concerned local organizations to draw up a comprehensive strategy for carrying out relief work. The president also met a delegation of the representatives of the Afghan refugees.

He called upon the nation to donate generously towards the fund for the relief of their Afghan brethren.

The president announced that Pakistan would donate food, tents, medicines, etc., for the Afghan refugees generously.

Pakistan, he said, would continue to extend all support and cooperation to international organizations, such as the World Food Programme, to carry food and other items of daily use inside Afghanistan.

The president told a reporter that there were differences with the United Nations agencies for establishing new refugee camps. However, he added, these differences were likely to be sorted out to set up these camps inside Afghanistan.

A committee has been set up with the minister for state and frontier regions as its chairman to coordinate relief efforts with international agencies and local organizations.

The president explained that efforts would be made to send more and more relief goods inside Afghanistan so that the internally displaced people did not leave their country.

He said the externally displaced Afghans would be taken to the camps set up by the UNHCR inside Pakistan near the Afghan border.

The president expressed Pakistan’s readiness to accept vulnerable Afghans — women, children, old and injured. He assured that those wounded in war would be treated in Pakistan and if required, they would even be sent abroad for proper treatment.

The Fauji Foundation has agreed to provide artificial limbs to the victims of war.

The president paid tributes to Maulana Abdul Sattar Edhi for his decision to set up orphan care centres for the Afghan children who had lost their parents.

In reply to a question, Gen Musharraf pointed out that Pakistan had been looking after the Afghan refugees with its own resources for more than two decades as the international assistance received on this count came to only $13 per refugee per year.

Agencies add: “One hopes the operational objectives will be achieved before the beginning of Ramazan so that we can have peace in Ramazan,” he said.

Ramazan is expected to start around Nov 17.

About opening the border for refugees, the president said Pakistan’s experience of the past in this regard was not very good. “We were left high and dry.”

In reply to a question about Taliban’s reaction if camps are established on Afghan side of the border, the president said this was a serious question but “we are discussing it with the Taliban embassy here in Pakistan. We hope they would agree.”