ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Minister for States and Frontier Regions (Safron), Shehryar Khan Afridi, warned on Sunday that a humanitarian crisis was developing in Afghan refugee camps due to the ongoing lockdown to curb the spread of coronavirus in the country.
“If Pakistan can roll out a special relief package for Afghan refugees, why can’t the developed nations come to the rescue of the besieged refugees,” he said in a statement, urging “the United Nations and the prosperous world” to step in.
To facilitate Afghans residing in various refugee camps across the country, Prime Minister Imran Khan had issued orders for the creation of a special relief package, despite the financial difficulties faced by the country.
Afridi, however, says more needs to be done.
“I call upon the United Nations Secretary-General and UN High commissioner on refugees to please send food rations to these Afghans in camps which are mostly daily wagers. Failure is no option,” he said, adding that though the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) had formed a crisis management cell on his request, the measures were yet to become a reality.
Meanwhile, the UNHCR said on April 1 that it had started dispatching core relief items to support Pakistan through the crisis following the donation of five ambulances to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
“In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, the UNHCR has redoubled its efforts to assist the government in coping with increased numbers of patients requiring emergency transportation. The ambulances will be deployed to the districts of Haripur, Kohat, Mardan, Peshawar and Swabi,” excerpts from the UNHCR’s statement said.
Pakistan entered the fourth week of a partial lockdown on Monday to contain the spread of coronavirus which has killed 50 people thus far.
At present, Pakistan is host to nearly 1.4 million registered and almost a million unregistered Afghan refugees.
Lockdown at Afghan refugee camps could lead to crisis - Pakistani minister
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Lockdown at Afghan refugee camps could lead to crisis - Pakistani minister
Pakistani party announces countrywide protests on Friday against US-Israel strikes on Iran
- Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) party chief urges Pakistan to withdraw from Trump’s Board of Peace body
- Calls for transparent probe into deaths of 10 protesters who stormed US consulate in Karachi
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani religious party Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) announced it would hold countrywide protests against US and Israel’s aggression against Iran, calling on Islamabad to withdraw from US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace body.
Tensions have surged in the Middle East ever since Saturday, when US and Israel launched surprise airstrikes against Iran after months of negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear program.
Iran confirmed on Sunday its Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had been killed in the strikes, retaliating with drone and missile attacks against US military installations in the Gulf.
“The Jamaat-e-Islami chief expressed solidarity with the Iranian government and people and announced nationwide protests on Friday against what he described as US and Israeli aggression,” the JI said in a statement on Wednesday.
It quoted party chief Naeem ur Rehman as saying that the Board of Peace formed under the leadership of US President Donald Trump was a “sham.”
“He demanded that the Government of Pakistan immediately withdraw from the so-called Gaza Peace Board and urged both the government and opposition to openly condemn the US and Israeli attacks on Iran,” the JI added.
Rehman said it was necessary to defeat the “nefarious” plans of the US and Israel, warning that Israel could target Pakistan next.
The JI chief reiterated his demand for a transparent investigation into the killing of 10 protesters who had stormed the US consulate in Karachi on Sunday to protest Khamenei’s killing.
A Reuters report cited two American officials as saying that US Marines had fired at the demonstrators. However, the US officials said it was unclear whether rounds fired by Marines struck or killed anyone.
“The Jamaat-e-Islami chief appealed to protesters to remain peaceful and urged people from all walks of life to participate fully in Friday’s demonstrations,” the JI said.
The JI has regularly held large public rallies in Pakistan’s Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad cities against Israel for its military operations in Gaza.
