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PAL-C says children living
in IDP camps need particular attention
WASHINGTON: An advocacy group working on the Capitol Hill
has urged the US to expand assistance for internally displaced
persons (IDPs) to $1 billion.
“In addition to the assistance required to provide basic
services, there will be further assistance required to provide
education and counselling to the children housed in the camps,” said
the Pakistani-American Leadership Centre (PAL-C). The centre
drew attention of both the US Congress and administration to
the urgent needs of the IDPs. According to Mossadaq Chughtai,
a noted PAL-C founding director, children living in the IDP
camps need particular attention.
Another Pakistani-American organisation, 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 Independence. The
Obama administration and the Pakistani embassy in Washington
have been encouraging 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.
A bipartisan group of US 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. Meanwhile, Ambassador to the US
Husain Haqqani is scheduled to host members of the Pakistani
American community this week to mobilise support for the people
of Swat.
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