ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Iran host 90 percent of Afghan refugees, according to a report released by the United Nations on Wednesday, as the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan shows no signs of abating, leading to a displacement of 9.7 million of its nationals until the middle of this year.
Afghanistan witnessed an end to a war that lasted for about two decades in August 2021 when the United States-led international forces pulled out of the country and the Taliban swept back to power by seizing control of Kabul and extending administrative outreach to other cities.
While the conflict has largely subsided, the UN report on forced displacement noted that rising prices, a collapsing economy and ever-increasing restrictions on the rights of women and girls continued to cause social and economic miseries.
“Poverty is endemic, half of the population of more than 40 million people faces acute food insecurity, and nearly 3.3 million people in the country remained displaced from their homes at mid-2023,” it said while pointing out that the total number of Afghan refugees had globally increased from 5.7 million to 6.1 million.
“Together, the Islamic Republic of Iran (3.4 million) and Pakistan (2.1 million) hosted 90 percent of all Afghan refugees,” the report added.
The UN also highlighted that the total number of refugees had increased worldwide by 1.2 million or 3 percent during the first half of the year due to outbreak of conflicts in places like Sudan and the continuation of the war in Ukraine.
By the end of June, there were an estimated 35.8 million refugees globally, most of whom have been in displacement for many years.
“The world’s focus now is – rightly – on the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza,” said UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi. “But globally, far too many conflicts are proliferating or escalating, shattering innocent lives and uprooting people.”
“The international community’s inability to solve conflicts or prevent new ones is driving displacement and misery,” he added. “We must look within, work together to end conflicts and allow refugees and other displaced people to return home or restart their lives.”
UN report reveals Pakistan and Iran host 90 percent Afghan refugees amid ongoing crisis
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UN report reveals Pakistan and Iran host 90 percent Afghan refugees amid ongoing crisis
- The UN says the total number of Afghan refugees has globally increased from 5.7 million to 6.1 million
- The UN report laments the international community’s inability to solve old conflicts and prevent new ones
Pakistan, seven Muslim nations back Palestinian technocratic body, stress Gaza-West Bank unity
- The National Committee for the Administration of the Gaza Strip was announced on January 14
- Muslim nations call for consolidation of the ceasefire and unimpeded humanitarian aid into Gaza
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and seven other Muslim-majority countries on Thursday welcomed the formation of a temporary Palestinian technocratic body to administer Gaza, stressing that it must manage daily civilian affairs while preserving the institutional and territorial link between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank amid the ongoing peace efforts.
In a joint statement, the foreign ministers of Pakistan, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Türkiye, Indonesia and the United Arab Emirates said the newly announced National Committee for the Administration of the Gaza Strip would play a central role during the second phase of a broader peace plan aimed at ending the war and paving the way for Palestinian self-governance.
“The Ministers emphasize the importance of the National Committee commencing its duties in managing the day-to-day affairs of the people of Gaza, while preserving the institutional and territorial link between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, ensuring the unity of Gaza, and rejecting any attempts to divide it,” the statement said.
The committee, announced on Jan. 14, is a temporary transitional body established under United Nations Security Council Resolution 2803 and is to operate in coordination with the Palestinian Authority, the ministers said.
The statement said the move forms part of the second phase of US President Donald Trump’s Comprehensive Peace Plan for Gaza, which the ministers said they supported, praising Trump’s efforts to end the war, ensure the withdrawal of Israeli forces and prevent the annexation of the occupied West Bank.
The top leaders of all eight Muslim countries attended a meeting with Trump in New York last September, shortly before he unveiled the Gaza peace plan.
The ministers also called for the consolidation of the ceasefire, unimpeded humanitarian aid into Gaza, early recovery and reconstruction and the eventual return of the Palestinian Authority to administer the territory, leading to a just and sustainable peace based on UN resolutions and a two-state solution on pre-1967 lines with East Jerusalem as the Palestinian capital.
