90,000 people displaced from Bajaur, says UN

Around 190,000 people have been displaced from Bajaur Agency since fighting began in mid-August, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said on Tuesday.

“This number includes over 168,000 Pakistanis now sheltering in the North West Frontier Province and another 20,000 Pakistanis and Afghans who fled into eastern Afghanistan’s Kunar province,” said UNHCR spokesman Ron Redmond.

He said that due to ‘security reasons’, the agency did not have access to most areas on both sides of the border where most of the displaced were staying with families, s foreign news agency reported.

Pakistan Army had said in September that the fighting in Bajaur was some of the heaviest since Pakistan joined the US-led ‘war on terror’ in 2001. It also said it had killed 1,000 militants including Al Qaeda’s operational commander in the region Egyptian Abu Saeed Al-Masri.

Meanwhile, the government of Japan has donated $4.06 million to assist the Pakistanis displaced by the recent conflict and floods in the northern parts of the country, as a humanitarian gesture to support the country hosting the world’s largest refugee population.

The donation will go towards UNHCR operations supporting relief supplies, including shelter, transportation, registration and operation costs, for internally displaced persons (IDP), said a statement issued on Tuesday.

UNHCR Pakistan needs $17.2 million to carry out its activities for an estimated 310,000 affected people.UNHCR response is part of a $54 million ‘Pakistan Humanitarian Response Plan’ launched by the UN to assist the government in providing immediate humanitarian relief to the IDPs in various sectors.

“The recent tragedies in Pakistan have moved the people and the government in Japan. This donation, coming from the people of Japan, reflects our commitment to help thousands left homeless due to the recent events. These people are in dire need of immediate humanitarian assistance,” said Chihiro Atsumi, ambassador of Japan to Pakistan.

“The Japanese support for the IDPs comes at the time when it is mostly required to help the uprooted people inside Pakistan,” said Guenet Guebre-Christos, UNHCR’s representative in Islamabad.

“Japan has been a reliable humanitarian partner assisting the UNHCR in responding to human tragedies around the globe. It is also an acknowledgement of Pakistan’s long-term hospitality towards refugees from the international community,” he said.