MIANWALI, March 4: The visit of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Ruud Lubbers to Kot Chandna refugee camp has been cancelled due to bad weather.

Meanwhile, UNHCR programme officer Naeem Jan Durrani told newsmen here that the population of the camp was 132,000 which had now reduced to 42,000 as the remaining Afghans had scattered in all cities, towns and villages to earn their living.

He said as the UNHCR and other donor agencies had ‘cut’ assistance to these refugees, the life had become hard for the refugees. The UNHCR was providing only basic health and primary education facilities, he said.

He said the UNHCR with the collaboration of the Pakistan government had launched a ‘repatriation programme’ on March 2 by setting up three validation centres at Khost (northern Afghanistan), All Zai (inside Kurrum Agency) and Chaman (Balochistan).

Meanwhile, Isakhel tehsil Nazim Haji Altaf distributed 2,000 blankets among Afghan refugees at Kot Chandna refugee camp on behalf of a Pakistani NGO.

NGO’s managing director Malik Waseem said the blankets were being distributed on humanitarian grounds.