By Wajid Ali Syed – Washington Correspondent for Asian Tribune
Washington, 23 May, (Asiantribune.com): The United Nations is appealing for more than $500 million to assist nearly 2 million Pakistanis displaced by fighting between army troops and Taliban militants in Swat Valley. The agency says that the scale and speed of the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Pakistan is extraordinary.
"The numbers of people who have moved in that last three and half weeks is the highest rate of movement we have seen for more than 20 years anywhere in the world. And it is the biggest displacement that has ever occurred in Pakistan," UN coordinator said Friday.
UNHCR’s total projected needs until the end of 2009 are for $105 million dollars, of which $84 million is still needed.
This week, the Pakistani government unveiled a high-profile strategy to deal with the exploding numbers of people displaced by the war against Taliban militants in Swat Valley. Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani hosted a donor's conference in the capital, Islamabad, where several nations, including the United States, pledged $224 million in humanitarian aid.
UNHCR spokesperson, Helene Caux visited Jalala camp in Mardan district not far from the military offensive this week - says the biggest problem for camp residents is the heat, which has been steadily hovering just below 40 degrees Celsius. Caux also says camp residents are clearly traumatized and want to go home.
The number of displaced people formally registered by local authorities, with UNHCR’s help, since May 2 following fighting in Lower Dir, Buner and Swat districts of Pakistan’s north-west has surpassed 1.7 million. About 200,000 of these are in camps and the rest are staying with their families and friends or in schools and other communal buildings.
- Asian Tribune -
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