Situation in Afghanistan disturbing: UN official

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD, FEB. 16. A senior official of the United Nations (U.N.) has said after a tour of Aghanistan that the situation there continues to be extremely disturbing despite the emergency relief measures in the last few days and appealed to the world community to respond generously to help the displaced people.

The Under Secretary General of the U.N., Mr. Kenzo Oshima, told a news conference here that the sheer scale of the crisis made it impossible for Afghans and aid agencies to overcome the situation on their own. ``In my report to the U.N. Secretary General, I pledge to do the necessary to raise awareness of the situation''.

Mr. Oshima has been specially deputed by the U.N. Secretary General, Mr. Kofi Annan, to visit Afghanistan and Pakistan for a first hand assessment of the plight of the displaced persons. In the course of his visit to Afghanistan he visited several refugee camps including those in Heart where on the night of January 29 in one of the camps over 100 people perished due to extreme cold.

Mr. Oshima said he met representatives of the Taliban and the opposition Northern Alliance and impressed upon them on the need to stop fighting and to take care of the needs of the people. ``I urged the Taliban authorities to provide better environment for the aid agencies engaged in relief operations''.

In response to a question on the fresh sanctions imposed by the U.N. and their impact on relief operations, Mr. Oshima conceded that the sanctions had made the task of humanitarian assistance difficult. Mr. Oshima would devote some space in his report on the impact of the sanctions on the people of Afghanistan.

On the decision of the Taliban government to close down the office of the U.N. Special Mission on Afghanistan, Mr. Oshima said that the Taliban authorities had agreed in principle to let the U.N. function. The Taliban had ordered closure of the U.N. office in retaliation to the decision of the U.S. to close down the Taliban office in New York.

Mr. Oshima would be in New Delhi tomorrow to discuss with the Indian government about the situation arising out of the earthquake in Gujarat and the relief and rehabilitation measures launched..

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