SWABI, Nov 8: The tents given by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to the Afghan displaced persons in Pakistan are being sold in various localities and business centres, according to a survey.

The UN refugee agency provided tents to various Afghan families as to protect them from harsh weather when they poured into Pakistan after the US-led coalition overthrew the Taliban regime in Kabul.

The tents being sold in the local market for Rs300 to Rs400 at the most, carry the acronym of UNHCR and nobody has ever questioned it.

Two Afghan sellers, when asked, told this scribe that the supplier of the tents had collected these from destitute Afghan families either in Afghanistan or in Peshawar.

However, one Gul Mohammad of Maneri Bala told Dawn that he had purchased one piece of tent for Rs30 and when he sewed the two pieces together, it became a full tent.

The Afghans sellers claimed that the main purchasers of these tents included the transport owners and truckers, who preferred it for its low price and durability.