§ Tony WorthingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement about the flow of refugees out of Afghanistan into Pakistan; in which areas this is occurring and at what 1043W level; what the reasons for this are; and what is being done by the international community to counteract this. [49004]
§ Clare ShortWhile voluntary returns to Afghanistan from Pakistan and Iran continue to gather momentum, some Afghans continue to leave their country. The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) reports that approximately 40,000 Afghans are gathered in the Killi Faizo transit camp at the Chaman border crossing between Balochistan Province in Pakistan and Kandahar Province in Southern Afghanistan. Many of the group have been in the area since late February 2002. The majority of Afghans at Chaman are fleeing the effects of drought, while others are ethnic Pushtuns claiming to have been targeted by bandits or other armed groups in the north of Afghanistan, where they are a minority group. UNHCR are in discussions with the Pakistani authorities to urge them to allow those seeking refuge and assistance to be registered and transferred to existing refugee camps in Pakistan. At the same time, UNHCR and its partners are working to improve conditions——including water and sanitation and health facilities——in the waiting area; and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) are carrying out distribution of emergency food supplies.