U N I T E D   N A T I O N S
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
Integrated Regional Information Network for Central Asia

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Central Asia
IRIN-CA Weekly Round-up 29
19 - 25 October 2001


CONTENTS:

AFGHANISTAN: Food being trucked in daily
AFGHANISTAN: Rights body monitoring situation "closely"
PAKISTAN: Thousands of Afghan refugees cross into Quetta
PAKISTAN: Another US $22 million in British crisis aid
PAKISTAN: US $300 million loan for banking reform
IRAN: "Taliban must go" - Afghan ambassador
IRAN: Nearly 1,000 Afghan refugees reach border

AFGHANISTAN: Food being trucked in daily

Food deliveries are under way with the help of commercial drivers despite
the US-led air strikes and reports of deteriorating law and order inside
the country. Heather Hill, the spokeswoman for the UN World Food Programme
(WFP) in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, told IRIN on Tuesday that 1,200
mt a day was being delivered daily by truck convoys from pre-positioned
stocks in Iran, Pakistan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan. Daily deliveries
were increasing in quantity to reach the daily 1,600 mt target, with
52,000 mt per month of food aid required for six million vulnerable people
inside the country, she said. Hill said it was snowing in the high
altitude Anjuman Pass, the only access route to civilians in the Northern
Alliance-held Panjshir Valley, north of Kabul, eastern Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, WFP had reached an agreement with the Kyrgyz and Tajik
authorities to keep the supply route into northern Badakhshan cleared of
snow, she said, adding that 16 snowploughs were being purchased for this
purpose. In addition, convoys of trucks were travelling daily from Kabul
into the central highlands and being handed over to Oxfam for onward
distribution.

The head of Save the Children-US (SC-US) for Afghanistan, Andrew Wilder,
told IRIN that food was now being delivered in large quantities, although
there remained the main challenge of reaching the more isolated parts of
Afghanistan, such as the central highlands. Although it was urgent to get
food to these areas before the onset of winter, Wilder said there was no
absolute deadline for much of the region. "The reality is that you will be
able to reach some parts of the central highlands region, but not all. In
some areas there will be the possibility of providing aid through the
winter months," Wilder said. He said he was optimistic about providing
sufficient aid to 400,000 people in the northern province of Faryab. In
order to minimise the risk of looting, SC-US, Acted and WFP had agreed
that relief trucks would now travel directly to delivery points in the
affected areas. [For further details see IRIN report of 24 October:
AFGHANISTAN: Focus on humanitarian situation]

Meanwhile, the Security Council has urged member states to rapidly
disburse contributions to the UN emergency humanitarian appeal for
Afghanistan. "Actual disbursements are not coming in quickly enough," Eric
Falt, the director of the UN Information Centre in Islamabad, told
reporters at a news conference on Wednesday. UNHCR has said it has only
received about US $12 million of the estimated $50 million needed to cater
for refugees. Donor governments have formally pledged another $11 million,
but the pledges had not been "translated into cash", Falt said. WFP had
received less than half of its appeal for $257 million, while UNICEF's
appeal for $36 million had also only been met by half so far, he said.
[For further details see IRIN separate report of 19 October: AFGHANISTAN:
Aid agencies warn of rising starvation]

AFGHANISTAN: Rights body monitoring situation "closely"

Attacks on aid workers and relief agency offices in Afghanistan "must be
stopped", a statement from Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on 18 October.
"The Taliban and other armed elements are carrying out widespread attacks
on humanitarian workers in Afghanistan, stealing their equipment,
supplies, and vehicles," the statement said. "We are deeply concerned
about what they are using the vehicles and equipment for, shielding
themselves using humanitarian assets, and putting humanitarian workers at
risk," Peter Bouckaert, a senior researcher for HRW in the Pakistani
capital, Islamabad, told IRIN on 19 October. He said the loss of transport
would directly affect the ability of aid agencies to deliver food.

HRW expressed concern over the US-led bombings of two "clearly marked"
ICRC warehouses in broad daylight on 16 October. Another incident, in
which a World Food Programme worker was wounded by shrapnel from a bomb
that landed on Kabul airport while he was loading bags of grain from a
nearby warehouse, was also worrying aid agencies and human rights
organisations. "The US military alliance should take all necessary steps
to minimise injury to civilians," the statement said. [For further details
see IRIN separate report of 19 October: AFGHANISTAN: Halt attacks on aid
agencies, says rights body]

In a subsequent interview with IRIN in Islamabad on 24 October, Bouckaert
said his organisation was closely monitoring events inside Afghanistan,
focusing especially on the civilian fallout from the air campaign and the
fighting between the Northern Alliance and Taliban forces. Two major
concerns for HRW at present were the number of civilians fleeing the heavy
bombardment of Kandahar in southern Afghanistan, and the risk of human
rights violations if cities were to changes hands during factional
fighting. With respect to Afghanistan's future, Bouckaert maintained that
there could not be a stable government in Afghanistan which would respect
the rights of its people until those responsible for past war crimes had
been held accountable. "Warring factions in Afghanistan have long learnt
the lesson that they can take up the gun and commit abuses against a
population without facing justice, and that needs to be stopped," he said.
Those with abusive records should be excluded from any future government
coalition, he added. [For full interview see IRIN report of 24 October:
AFGHANISTAN: Interview with Human Rights Watch representative]

PAKISTAN: Thousands of Afghan refugees cross into Quetta

Some 5,000 Afghan refugees crossed into Pakistan's southwestern city of
Quetta on 20 October, the largest number in a day so far, according to
UNHCR, with up to 15,000 people reported stuck in no-man's-land on the
Afghan side at the Chaman border crossing. The BBC reported that another
6,000 had crossed on 21 October. Pakistani officials have said only
refugees in possession of official documents will be allowed to enter.
However, UNHCR has urged the authorities to accommodate the influx. "We
think anyone who needs asylum should be able to get into the country.
These people need food and shelter," Peter Kessler, the UNHCR spokesman in
Islamabad told IRIN on Monday.

UNHCR has identified two key sites at the Chaman border to receive them.
However, Kessler said the sites were "far from complete". "The serious
security situation in Quetta has slowed down our progress in preparing
these sites," he said. In order to cope with this latest influx, Kessler
said the refugee agency had sent several trucks carrying tents, blankets
and food to the Chaman border. He added that the agency needed to build up
a stockpile at the sites in time for the new arrivals. With the risk of
disease breaking out among refugees still waiting to cross, medical teams
were also expected at the border. Meanwhile, preparations in Pakistan's
North West Frontier Province (NWFP) were also continuing, Kessler said.
UNHCR has sent teams to assess sites and is continuing work on areas
marked for camps. The refugee influx from eastern Afghanistan into the
NWFP was said not to be as large as that in southwestern Pakistan, he
said. [For further details see IRIN separate report of 22 October:
PAKISTAN: Thousands of Afghans pour in]

PAKISTAN: Another US $22 million in British crisis aid

British Secretary of State for International Development (DFID) Clare
Short has announced a US $22 million package for Pakistan towards
continuing reforms and helping the country cope with an influx of Afghan
refugees. "The humanitarian situation in the whole region is very serious,
and the next few weeks are critical if we are to avoid a disaster," Short
said at a joint news conference in Islamabad with Pakistan's finance
minister, Shaukat Aziz, on 19 October. The $22 million is in addition to
the UK's pledge of $16 million following the events of 11 September - also
in respect of the refugee situation. Pakistan says it is home to almost
three million Afghans, but has agreed to take in more temporarily,
providing it receives financial backing.

During her brief stay, Short also met Pakistani President Pervez
Musharraf, with whom she discussed ways by which the UK could support his
government in implementing its economic and social reform programmes and
preparations for the 2002 elections. "We have committed relief, and
support for the decentralisation programme," she said.

Short added that the DFID would increase its bilateral programme for
Pakistan to $65 million per year for the next two years, and that she had
discussed writing off service payments on Pakistan's $29 million debt to
the Commonwealth Development Corporation, and possibly the cancellation of
the debt, "subject to continued economic and political progress". [For
further details see IRIN separate report of 19 October: PAKISTAN: Britain
pledges US $22 million in crisis aid]

PAKISTAN: US $300 million loan for banking reform

The World Bank on Tuesday approved a US $300 million credit to assist
Pakistan with its ongoing banking reform programme. World Bank officials
believe the loan will ultimately help reduce poverty in the country.
According to their recent research, a sound and efficient financial system
contributes greatly to poverty reduction by leading to higher economic
growth. The project is also expected to improve access for poor people to
financial services. The Additional Secretary at the Ministry of Finance,
Waqar Massoud, welcomed the move, describing it as important for banking
in Pakistan. Third in charge at the ministry, he told IRIN on Wednesday
that the significant credit programme was arranged through the
International Development Association, the wing of the Bank providing
interest-free credits, also known as "soft loans".

"This loan will carry a low service charge of 0.75 percent, maturing over
35 years with a 10-year grace period," Massoud said. It was government's
current policy to restrict itself to soft borrowings on favourable terms,
he said. Massoud said the loan was important for the privatisation of
domestic banking. Central to the reforms was the restructuring of the
nationalised banks, which Massoud hoped would help stimulate
competitiveness within the banking system.

World Bank Country Director for Pakistan John Wall said he was immensely
encouraged by Pakistan's commitment to reforming the institutional
workings which underpin a healthy economy. In a statement on Wednesday, he
said the government had demonstrated that a safe and sound banking system
was fundamental to Pakistan's ability to create the conditions needed to
bring about sustainable growth and thus a better life for its 138 million
people. [For further details see IRIN separate report of 24 October:
PAKISTAN: Loan expected to eventually benefit poor]

IRAN: "Taliban must go" - Afghan ambassador

"The Taliban leadership must go," Sayed Mohammad Khairkhah, the ambassador
of the Islamic State of Afghanistan to Iran, told IRIN. "In Afghanistan
there is no work and no food - only poverty and oppression. Of course we
support the Americans in their war against terrorism, but we are concerned
over the reported deaths of innocent civilians," he said, speaking as a
representative of the opposition Northern Alliance. "America must be very
careful," Khairkhah warned, however. "Whatever measures are taken must be
well-targeted and precise to avoid civilian deaths. The quicker this
operation is over the better. If America attacks the terrorists, there is
practicality in what they are doing. If, outside this, they consider
staying longer, or occupying the country, it will backfire," he stressed.

Badreddin Sharegh, editor of the Tehran-based Afghan biweekly Jonbesh,
shared this view. "Anyone who attacks the Taliban is a friend of ours,"
the 45 year-old ethnic Uzbek told IRIN. Unlike Pakistan, which has its own
large Pashtun or pro-Taliban population, there were no Afghans protesting
against America on the streets of Iran, he said. "There are no supporters
of the Taliban in Iran due to the ethnic composition here." This is
because very few of the Afghans living in Iran belong to Afghanistan's
majority Pashtun population.

Sharegh, too, warned against deploying foreign troops on Afghan soil for
too long. "That would be problematic," he said. "What we need is to
immediately get rid of the Taliban and establish a broad-based government
embracing all the country’s ethnic groups, including the majority
Pashtun." [For further details see IRIN separate report of 22 October:
IRAN: Afghans cautiously optimistic]

IRAN: Nearly 1,000 Afghan refugees reach border

UNHCR in Iran confirmed to IRIN on Wednesday that almost 1,000 Afghan
refugees had arrived on Iran's southeastern border and were staying in one
of the two camps run by the Iranian Red Crescent Society, inside
Afghanistan. The influx is the largest along the Iranian border since
US-led strikes on Afghanistan began on 7 October. "In the last 24 hours,
the amount of Afghans in the Mahkaki refugee camp has increased
significantly," Mohammad Nouri, the UNHCR spokesman in the Iranian
capital, Tehran, said. "Since Tuesday the population of the camp has risen
from 600 to 1,570," he added.

According to Nouri, the Mahkaki camp in Iran's Sistan-Baluchistan province
is located two kilometres inside Afghan territory, while the second camp,
Mile 46, accommodating about 600 Afghans, is located seven kilometres
within Afghanistan. However, according to Nouri, no population movement or
influx into the northeastern province of Khorasan has been recorded.

Islamabad, 25 October 2001


[ENDS]

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Copyright (c) UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2001


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