Comprehensive U.N. relief plan sought

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD, OCT. 2. Even as Islamabad ruled out throwing open its border to absorb more refugees from Afghanistan, the Pakistan President, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, has urged the United Nations to prepare a comprehensive reconstruction and rehabilitation plan for Afghanistan.

In a meeting with the U.N. Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs, Mr. Kenzo Oshima here, Gen. Musharraf assured him of all technical and material assistance in its plans for relief and rehabilitation measures for the people of Afghanistan within and outside the country.

There are an estimated 2.5 million Afghan refugees in Pakistan. The biggest worry of the military government is that there could be a massive influx of refugees if and when the United States and its allies decide to launch an offensive against the Taliban regime.

Like the other five neighbouring countries of Afghanistan, Pakistan too has closed its borders to prevent further influx. While the U.N. has been pressing Pakistan to open its borders, the latter has repeatedly expressed its inability to do so. However, Islamabad has admitted that it is simply not possible for it to seal the porous 2,500-km. border and the situation could be expected to take a turn for the worse once Afghanistan is targeted. An estimated 10,000 Afghan refugees have trickled into Pakistan through `non-traditional routes' since the September 11 terrorist attacks in the U.S.

The Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman, Mr. Riaz Mohammad Khan, told a news conference here this evening that ``we are facilitating as much supply of food and other essential items as possible through the United Nations agencies. On the question of opening of the border the policy remains unchanged''. The U.N. envoy handed over a letter addressed to President Musharraf, by the U.N. Secretary General, Mr. Kofi Annan. In the letter he has conveyed his deep appreciation for the humanitarian assistance being provided by Pakistan to the refugees.

He assured the President of the U.N.'s continued cooperation in this regard and recalled his recent launching of an appeal to the international community for $584 million for providing relief to both the Afghans living in their country and those who have taken refuge in neighbouring States.

Gen. Musharraf hoped on Tuesday that any U.S. action against Afghanistan's ruling Taliban would be `very very short'. ``I only hope that it's not months and years, and that whatever action has to be taken, is very very short, followed by very good rehabilitation efforts in Afghanistan,'' he told the BBC in an interview.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : International
Previous : Target all outfits like Al-Qaeda: Jaswant
Next     : Consensus eludes U.N. on definition of terrorism