Date: Fri, 10 Nov 2000 17:54:35 +0300 (BEAUT)
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Subject: CENTRAL ASIA: IRIN News Briefs  [2001110]
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CENTRAL ASIA: IRIN News Briefs, 10 November

CONTENTS:

AFGHANISTAN: Pakistan bans entry of Afghan refugees
AFGHANISTAN: WFP struggles to feed 80,000 displaced in north
AFGHANISTAN: Iran and Tajikistan seek peaceful solution to conflict
KAZAKHSTAN: President given green light to fight Islamic extremism
IRAN: Worst natural disaster damage caused by floods


AFGHANISTAN: Pakistan bans entry of Afghan refugees

The Government of Pakistan in the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) 
announced on Thursday an immediate ban on the entry of new Afghan refugees
into the province. The UNHCR spokesman in Peshawar, Roy Herrmann, told
IRIN on Friday: "We are surprised by this news, and the UNHCR is currently
meeting with Pakistani authorities at various levels in an effort to
reverse the decision." 

News sources reported that the Pakistani government had become alarmed at
the recent influx of refugees into Pakistan fleeing heavy fighting in
northern Afghanistan and was disappointed by the lack of assistance
Pakistan had received from the international community. In addition, there
was speculation in the government that not all those entering the country
were doing so because of fighting and existing drought conditions, but
rather for economic reasons. UNHCR estimates there are 1.2 million Afghans
living in Pakistan today, but the Government of Pakistan puts the figure
at almost 2 million. The presence of Afghans is most visible in the NWFP
capital Peshawar, where at least 700,000 people in a population of
approximately 2.2 million are Afghan. 

The government has suggested that centres for internally displaced persons
(IDPs) be set up in Afghanistan to stem the flow coming into Pakistan, but
Herrmann said such a move was impractical as "most of the people fleeing
now are ethnic minorities who would have a difficult time under such
conditions". UNHCR has appealed for further funds to assist recent
arrivals, but officials say there has been little international response. 

AFGHANISTAN: WFP struggles to feed 80,000 displaced in north

WFP has launched a second emergency food distribution in the northern
provinces of Badakhshan and Takhar in a bid to feed some of the 80,000
internally displaced people (IDPs) there. Khaled Mansour, WFP regional
information officer for Afghanistan, told IRIN on Thursday that the
conditions of the IDPs were deteriorating and "their already meagre
assets"  were disappearing fast. Food trucks were heading for Fustaq,
Khoja Bahauddin, Dasht-i-Qala and Yangi Qala in Takhar province, carrying
more than 900 mt of wheat for some 9000 families, the largest
concentration of IDPs in the region, he said. The programme began on
Sunday in Faizabad, capital of Badakhshan province, where some 1200
families were displaced. Mansour told IRIN that WFP was also screening
IDPs in Keshem district where 1,088 displaced families were located. Each
family would receive 100 kg of wheat, he said. 

"The situation in Dashti Qala is compounded by the effects of the drought. 
This area is largely rain-fed and therefore support from the local
population is meagre. WFP plans to help 10,000 IDPs there but the conflict
near the area is hampering our efforts. There are reports of IDPs fleeing
from there further west because of the fighting," Mansour added. 

AFGHANISTAN: Iran and Tajikistan seek peaceful solution to conflict

Iran and Tajikistan both want to see a peaceful solution to the conflict
in Afghanistan, Tajik President Emomali Rakhmonov said on Wednesday at the
end of a two-day visit to the Iranian capital, Tehran. "We have discussed
with [Iranian] President Mohammad Khatami ways of achieving the same
peaceful solution in Afghanistan," Agence France Presse (AFP) quoted
Rakhmonov as saying.  Wednesday's meeting follows a trip to the Tajik
capital Dushanbe by Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi at the end of
August, where talks focused on the situation in Afghanistan, Friday's
report said. The two men held talks on a number of matters, including
political and economic cooperation as well as the ongoing civil war in
Afghanistan, which borders both their countries. 

KAZAKHSTAN: President given green light to fight Islamic extremism

Kazakhstan's parliament voted on Thursday to give President Nursultan
Nazarbayev the power to send the country's armed forces into Central Asian
states facing threats from Islamic extremism, AFP reported.  In a joint
session of both houses of parliament, it was agreed that the president had
the right to deploy Kazakh forces to fulfil international obligations to
help keep peace and stability in the region. The move follows a summer in
which Uzbek, Tajik and Kyrgyz military forces were embroiled in fierce
fighting with Muslim extremists who attacked their borders in August. 

"Terrorist actions have gained a permanent character in the region and we
should always be ready to offer military help to our nearest neighbours,"
Defence Minister Sat Tokpakbayev said at the session.  The decision
corresponds to an earlier agreement by Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan
and Uzbekistan to collectively fight organised crime, terrorism and
religious extremism.  In addition, Nazarbayev's government agreed in
October, as a signatory of the Collective Security Agreement (CSA), to
work towards the creation of a rapid reaction force to be mobilised in the
case of an extremist threat to one of the states, Friday's report said. 
The CSA signatories include Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Russia,
Belarus and Armenia. 

IRAN: Worst natural disaster damage caused by floods

The managing director of the Interior Ministry's Research and Coordination
Department, Abbas Jazayeri, said on Thursday that although 86 percent of
Iran's urban population lived on earthquake faults, 70 percent of natural
disaster damage was caused by floods, the Iranian news agency, IRNA, said
on Friday. Flood damage amounted to about $629,000, Jazayeri said.
Although Iran's average rainfall was only 250-270 mm, as opposed to a
world average of 650-800 mm, the country's geographical location meant
that even light rains triggered floods.  Compounded by inadequate building
safety measures and unfettered construction on river banks, flood-related
damage had increased, Jazayeri said. To counter the damage caused by
drought$620,000 had been earmarked for development, $857,000 for
facilities, and $572,000 for special flood-prevention measures, the report
said. 

[ENDS]


[IRIN-Asia: Tel: +254 2 622147 Fax: +254 2 622129 e-mail:
irin-cea@ocha.unon.org ]


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