Pakistan refutes U.N. charges on Afghan relief

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD, APRIL 7. Pakistan has joined issue with the United Nations humanitarian and relief agencies engaged in providing relief to Afghan refugees and strongly refuted the contention that it is preventing them from reaching to the refugees in the camps on its side.

The U.N. Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, is reported to have personally telephoned the Pakistan military ruler and Chief Executive, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, to enquire about the charges that Pakistan authorities were preventing U.N. agencies from extending necessary help to the refugees in camps here and had stopped registering new arrivals.

Taking strong exception to the allegations, a spokesperson of the Pakistan Foreign Office accused the U.N. agencies of violating the understanding arrived at during Mr. Annan's recent visit, on relief and rehabilitation of displaced Afghans. It was agreed that the agencies would make all efforts to open relief camps within Afghanistan as Pakistan was no longer in a position to accommodate the increasing number of refugees.

``Let me emphasise that it is the agencies which are not acting in accordance with the understanding reached during the U.N. Secretary-General's visit. Let me also make it clear that any humanitarian organisation, U.N. or otherwise, foreign or local, is free to provide all humanitarian assistance that they can mobilise for the Jallozi as well as other camps'', the spokesperson said.

Terming allegations that Pakistan was not letting U.N. assistance reach the Jallozai Afghans, that it had barred Mr. Annan's visit to Jalozai and it was doing so because the new arrivals were non- Pushthoons as ``propaganda'', he said despite verification that the bulk of the Afghans at Shamshatoo camp were economic migrants, no U.N. agency was doing any thing for their repatriation. ``In any event, Pakistan does not intend to forcibly repatriate these economic migrants''.

The spokesperson said alarmed by the increasing influx and its inability to handle the new arrivals, the provincial authorities in Pakistan had asked the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHRC) to stop further registration. Despite repeated requests that the U.N. provide relief to the refugees on the Afghan side of the border, nothing was done by any of the concerned agencies.

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Section  : International
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