§ 41. Mr. Teddy Taylorasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will increase the aid commitments to Pakistan for 1983 to assist with the Afghan refugee problem; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. RaisonAs my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister, in a written reply to my hon. Friend on 24 February, said:
We remain deeply concerned about the plight of the Afghan refugees."—[Official Report, 24 February 1983; Vol. 37, c. 501.]I am glad, therefore, to announce today a further contribution of £2 million to be paid to relief agencies 536 working with the refugees. This brings the total value of our commitments since January 1980 to £13.7 million. In addition, we are providing aid costing over £16 million for Pakistan's border provinces of North-West Frontier and Baluchistan, which are the areas most seriously affected by the influx of refugees.
§ Mr. TaylorI welcome my right hon. Friend's splendid announcement. However, does he agree that the magnitude of the problem, when one third of Afghanistan's population have moved out, with 3 million going to Pakistan, calls for an extraordinary effort to be made, not just by the Government, but by as many of our friends in the free world as we can contact? Will my right hon. Friend draw the Government's generosity to the attention of the countries of the Commonwealth, the Common Market and the United States of America and suggest that others should give as generously as we have done?
§ Mr. RaisonI am grateful to my hon. Friend for his kind words. I shall certainly consider the point that he has just made. There is no doubt that 3 million refugees from Afghanistan represent one of the most disgraceful episodes of recent history.