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WASHINGTON, May 25 (APP): An advocacy group working on the
Capitol Hill has urged the United States to expand its assistance
for more than two million displaced Pakistanis of Malakand
region to $ one billion to help meet their escalating needs.
“In addition to the assistance required to provide
basic services, there will be further assistance required
to provide education and counseling to the children housed
in the camps,” the Pakistani American Leadership Center
said.
The PAL-C drew attention of both the U.S. Congress and administration
to the urgent needs of internally displaced people, who are
sacrificing the comfort of their homes in scenic Swat valley
and nearby areas to live under scorching weather in camps.
The appeal came as the Pakistani security forces fought
the militants in the streets and vital intersections to get
some strategic areas cleared of the Taliban militants that
were making life difficult for the local people by imposing
their own parochial code of life.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s ambassador to the Unite States
Husain Haqqani will host members of Pakistani American community
this week to mobilize support for the people of Swat. According
to Mossadaq Chughtai, a noted PAL-C founding director, children
living in the camps need particular attention as they have
been uprooted from their homes and face traumatic experience.
Another Pakistani American Organization “Friends of
Pakistan” has also launched a fund-raising campaign
to marshal resources that would help Islamabad take care
of the largest migration of people the country is witnessing
since its independence in 1947.
The Obama administration and the Pakistani embassy in Washington
have been encouraging the Americans to contribute to relief
assistance through the UN High Commissioner’s Office
for Refugees (UNHCR) by taking part in a text messaging initiative
announced by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton last week.
Anyone living in the United States can contribute $ 5 (five
dollars) to the UNHCR by texting “Swat” to number
20222.
A bipartisan group of U.S. senators has also asked President
Barack Obama to significantly expand American humanitarian
assistance as part of efforts to help Pakistan look after
the displaced people properly.
Secretary Clinton last week announced $ 110 million humanitarian
aid for the internationally displaced people of Swat. |
