Prime Minister Imran Khan Tuesday issued directives to the authorities to prepare a relief package for Afghan refugees as well as internally displaced persons (IDPs) facing lockdown due to coronavirus epidemic.
The prime minister issued the directives on a request from Minister Narcotics Control and SAFRON Shehryar Afridi during the cabinet meeting on Tuesday. He directed allocation of funds for the refuges and IDPs from Rs 200 billion set aside for the peasants.
Talking to a group of reporters, Afridi explained issues faced by Afghan refugees and the IDPs. He said around 2.8 million refugees are living in 52 refugee camps across Pakistan, 80 per cent of which are daily wagers. He said it is moral obligation of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) to help refugees in this hour of need. “IDPs left their home for the safety of Pakistan … we will not leave them alone in this testing time,” he said.
Shehryar Afridi, in collaboration with Shahid Afridi Foundation, has already distributed ration packages among refugees residing at Afghan camp in Kohat.
The minister said he plans to visit seven merged districts of erstwhile FATA, Balochistan, Afghan camps in Karachi, Hyderabad and Mianwali and deliver ration packages to the daily wagers. He said he is also in touch with philanthropists to contribute towards the cause.
