UN steps up relief operations in Pak's NWFP

With rapid increase in the number of domestic refugees, who have been forced to flee their homes in the North West Frontier Province and other tribal areas of Pakistan due to the increasing influence of the Taliban, the United Nations has announced to ramp up its humanitarian relief operation in the country.

In collaboration with the National Disaster Management Authority, UN agencies and their partners have started work on providing assistance to around 1,000 families escaping Buner and Dir districts to the Jalozai Camp, home to some 100,000 Afghan refugees before it was closed down last year, the world body said yesterday.

In preparation for another 5,000 families, forced from their homes by fighting, two additional camps have been set up in Mardan and one in Swabi in NWFP to give immediate assistance in the form of shelter, food, water, sanitation, as well as hygiene, health and education.

While the relief agencies could not give the internally displaced persons (IDPs) "the comfort of their home, we will try to make it as easy for them as possible," said Fikret Akucra, UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Pakistan.

The UN has been providing humanitarian assistance to IDPs in the NWFP since late last year with over 50,000 families receiving "one-off" provisions of relief materials and in February alone food and essential services were given to 348,000 IDPs and conflict-afflicted groups.