UAE to fund relief efforts for displaced people in Pakistan

August 21st, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Germany has given Rs.1.17 billion (about $14 million) in aid to Pakistan to help the displaced people in the country's North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), the Online news agency reported Friday. The funds will be used to purchase food for the displaced people as part of the UN World Food Programme (WFP).

August 6th, 2009 CHENNAI - Tamil Nadu Government on Thursday sent the fourth installment of relief material worth Rs 15 crores for Tamil civilians in Sri Lanka, who are confined to displacement camps. More than 2,80,000 civilians are held in sprawling camps in the north since May, when government troops crushed the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to end a 25-year-old war.

July 23rd, 2009 WASHINGTON - The US has announced an additional $165 million in aid to Pakistan for humanitarian relief, early recovery and long-term reconstruction efforts to support the internally displaced by the military conflict with the Taliban. US Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard C.

July 14th, 2009 ABU DHABI - The US has hailed the United Arab Emirates' (UAE) support to the people displaced in the ongoing conflict in Pakistan's restive Swat Valley, WAM news agency has reported. US Ambassador to the UAE Richard G.

July 13th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari on Monday said the entire focus of the government will now shift to the rehabilitation of displaced persons and rebuilding of the damaged infrastructure in Malakand Division. He was addressing a select gathering of international donors, NGOs and civil society who had contributed to the relief of the displaced person in and off camps and who were specially invited to the Presidency to honor them for their efforts and contributions.

July 10th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - The displaced Pakistanis should not be forced to return to their homes until the security situation improves in the northwest, the UN has said. UN emergency relief coordinator John Holmes said the conditions have to be right before people are encouraged to return.

July 10th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The US House of Representatives has approved an aid bill authorizing the 1.519 billion dollars being given to Pakistan as assistance during the current fiscal year. Similarly, the Senate Appropriations Committee also approved its own version of the bill which would provide Pakistan 1.57 billion dollars in aid in 2010, The Nation reports.

July 4th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - More than two million Pakistanis who have been displaced by the ongoing war between security forces and militants, but who have not got admission into any relief camp, are in appalling condition as they have no access to government aid, the Amnesty International has said. The government must ensure the ethnic Pashtuns fleeing the fighting in northwest Pakistan do not face discrimination in receiving assistance, the Online news agency said Saturday, citing the rights group Amnesty.

July 1st, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari said Wednesday the military operation against the Taliban will continue till the militants are eliminated from the country. Zardari made the comments during a meeting with Prime Minster Yousaf Raza Gilani and Chief of Army Staff Gen Ashfaq Pervez Kayani at Aiwan-e-Sadr.

June 27th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has directed the law-enforcement agencies to ensure that Pak-Taliban chieftains don't escape to other countries. Zardari is reported to have issued the directive during a meeting with NWFP Governor Owais Ahmed Ghani.

June 9th, 2009 UNITED NATIONS - The UN has opened three new camps to house the displaced Pakistanis fleeing the war in North West Frontier Province (NWFP), officials said. The displaced Pakistanis continue to pour into the camps as their homes were ravaged in the conflict between the security forces and the Taliban, the UN office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said Monday.

June 5th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - The US has accused private Pakistani channel Geo TV of bias in reporting America's efforts to ameliorate the sufferings of the millions of civilians who have been displaced by the military's anti-Taliban operations in the country's northwest. In an interview with a Geo TV correspondent after visiting a refugee camp near Mardan in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), US special envoy Richard Holbrooke advised the channel to tell the truth to Pakistanis about the huge financial assistance Washington was providing for the displaced persons.

June 3rd, 2009 WASHINGTON - The United States has rejected Pakistan's claim that Washington has failed to keep its promises regarding providing financial aid for the Swat region. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton rejected Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari's claims that Washington has failed to deliver on its promises to help Pakistan deal with issues arising out of the Swat military operation and the exodus of thousands.

May 31st, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari Sunday urged the government to immediately release 500 million rupees (about $6 million) in emergency aid for the displaced people living at the relief camps in North West Frontier Province, a media report said. The president was deeply concerned about the people living in the camps and asked the government to step up the relief work with emphasis on transparency and accountability, Senator Farhatullah Babar, spokesperson of the president, said in a statement.

May 25th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistan Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani on Monday urged the world community especially the United States to do more by assisting in his government's endeavors for effective implementation of its 3-R strategy for the displaced persons. Talking to US Senators Patrick Leahy, Mark Warner and Sheldon Whitehouse at PM House, the Prime Minister said though Pakistan was fighting its own war against terrorism, the world would be the ultimate beneficiary of its success.