UN Emergency Relief Coordinator urges fast response to Afghan crisis

The United Nation's Emergency Relief Coordinator, Kenzo Oshima, told Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf on Monday that he understood Pakistan's reasons for closing its border with Afghanistan, but said the UN would continue to press all countries neighbouring Afghanistan to open their borders to refugees. "President Musharraf explained, and I said that we of course understand the policy and reasoning [behind the closure]. I said I was satisfied that we are getting cooperation from the Pakistani authorities," Oshima said, "but we wish all countries neighbouring Afghanistan to reopen their borders." Oshima was speaking at a press briefing in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, on Monday during his three-day mission to the country to discuss UN plans to assist as many as 7.5 million in need inside Afghanistan. All countries neighbouring Afghanistan have closed their borders in fear of a major influx of refugees fleeing possible US strikes, saying that they can not cope with new influxes of Afghan refugees. Oshima, who is in the region at the request of the Secretary-General Kofi Annan, said that during his meeting with the president he had expressed appreciation that some preparatory effort was already underway between the Pakistani government and UNHCR in identifying sites for possible camps in Pakistan. The UN estimates that as many as a million refugees could cross into Pakistan in coming weeks, with a further 500,000 into neighbouring Iran and Tajikistan. While noting the measures being taken outside Afghanistan, Oshima stressed the importance of getting assistance to those inside the war-torn country. "Many of those who are leaving the cities and trying to cross into other countries have the means to travel these distances. Those who are still inside Afghanistan are trapped, because they have no assets and no means to leave," Oshima told IRIN. "There are a large number of people who need food, water, shelter and other life-saving material inside Afghanistan. We must do everything within our means to get large amounts of aid to these people as fast as possible." Although WFP and various other UN agencies started to truck aid into Afghanistan over the weekend, Oshima noted that there was a race against time before the winter set in: "There is a window of opportunity that is not very long in sending in as much food and relief items as possible to a large part of the country," he said. Oshima spoke about his meeting on Monday with the Taliban ambassador to Pakistan, Abdul Salam Zaeef, saying he stressed the intention of the UN humanitarian agencies and the international community to do as much as possible for the Afghan people. Oshima said he told the ambassador that if UN international staff were to be welcomed back to Afghanistan, they would go, provided there were guarantees from the Taliban over their security and their ability to get assistance to those in need. This would include the Taliban allowing staff to use communications equipment. Since the relocation of all expatriate aid workers, the Taliban have taken over UN offices in the southern province of Kandahar and other locations, and locked up UN communications equipment, preventing national staff from speaking with their agency headquarters in Pakistan. Asked whether the Taliban ambassador had agreed to his requests, Oshima said: "The impression I got was a positive one, but of course he made it very clear to me that he needs to refer back to his authorities," Oshima said. He added that the ambassador hoped that international staff would be able to return, and that the Taliban would contact the UN at a later date. Oshima visited Quetta in southwestern Pakistan on Tuesday for meetings with local government officials and aid workers. He was scheduled to depart Pakistan on Tuesday night for Iran.