ZUBAIR QURESHI
Shehryar Afridi wrote letters to United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and urged the world organization to accelerate relief efforts and provide food ration to the Afghan refugee families trapped in lockdown in across Pakistan. According to estimates, there are around 3.5 million Afghans living in across Pakistan out of which 1.8 million are registered while 0.8 are PoR card holders. The rest are illegal immigrants who are yet to register themselves with authorities concerned. Minister Afridi along with former Captain of Pakistan Cricket Team Shahid Afridi on Friday had visited Afghan Refugees’ camp in Kohat and oversaw the distribution of food packages to one thousand Afghan Refugees families affected by the lockdown. The food supplies were provided by Shahid Afridi Foundation. On the occasion, Shehryar Khan Afridi said that he had launched the food supplies campaign according to vision of Prime Minister Imran Khan and the government would reach the Afghan Refugees in every nook and corner of the country with assistance package. He expressed gratitude to Shahid Afridi for providing food ration to 1,000 Afghan refugee families. Shehryar Khan Afridi appealed to the people that in these difficult times, every Pakistani has to remember the weak and the poor segments of the society who may not get food due to lockdown situation. On the occasion, Shahid Afridi said that Afghan refugees are our brothers and Pakistanis stand side by side with Afghan families in these testing times. He said that the Afghan brothers should not be forgotten in this difficult times. Meanwhile, in response to the request by Shehryar Afridi, the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR has started dispatching core relief items in support of the Government of Pakistan’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The relief items include medical supplies and sanitation products such as sanitary clothes, soap and disinfectants. These packages will be provided to health facilities in support of refugees and host communities in Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab. Four trucks carrying some of the many items left from UNHCR’s central warehouse in Nowshera, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa; destined for Balochistan. More items will be delivered next week. “UNHCR is committed to supporting the Government’s COVID-19 prevention and response measures,” said the UNHCR Deputy Representative in Pakistan, Mr. Iain Hall. He said that the Agency’s priority is to contribute to the overall effort to minimize the spread and impact of the virus. It will provide medical supplies and consumables including personal protective equipment (PPE), which will be delivered to support the people of Pakistan and the Afghan refugees that they have so generously hosted for forty years. UNHCR is currently focusing interventions in three main areas: prevention and response; water and sanitation; and risk communication. The Commissionerate of Afghan Refugees (Ministry of SAFRON) and UNHCR’s NGO partners are amplifying the Government’s messages and reminders based on WHO guidance on COVID-19 infection prevention and control, including self-hygiene and social distancing.
