Pakistan

In 2009, Refugees International staff met directly with the U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, who soon after our meeting, disbursed funds to distribute relief items for displaced Pakistanis who had fled their homes following military operations launched by the Pakistani government against Taliban insurgents.

Rising from the Floods: Lessons from Katrina in Pakistan

Five years after Hurricane Katrina tore through the Gulf Coast, destroying homes and leaving people desperate for food and shelter, we are witnessing similar scenes of destruction coming out of Pakistan. Floods caused by torrential monsoon rains have affected an estimated 17 million Pakistanis while humanitarian agencies, local relief organizations, and the Pakistani government and military, struggle to provide desperately needed assistance and to reach over one million stranded victims. 

Refugees International Statement On Pakistan: More Protection Needed

Refugees International is glad to see that the U.S. will dramatically increase its aid to Pakistan to $150 million. Given the gravity of the situation, it is vital that more money be channeled into protecting the displaced and the other flood-affected victims.

Ready or not, climate change, and climate displacement, is happening

This blog was originally posted in The Hill's Congress Blog on Wednesday, August 18.

The devastating floods in Pakistan have claimed the lives of at least 1,500 people and rendered millions more homeless and displaced.  According to the United Nations, the deluge’s human toll, which has reportedly affected 14 million Pakistanis, is worse than the 2004 tsunami, the January earthquake in Haiti, and the 2005 earthquake in Pakistan combined.  The record-breaking floods – along with other recent unprecedented climate-related catastrophes such as the heat wave in Russia and torrential rains and subsequent mudslides in China – are in line with the predictions of climate scientists that global warming will cause an increase in the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events.

Refugees International Statement on Pakistan

Torrential rains in Pakistan have affected as many as 14 million people, and new waves of flooding could impact hundreds of thousands more. The scale of the crisis is so devastating that no one country can deal with it. The United Nations has launched an appeal calling for $460 million. The US has already pledged a total of $55 million to help flood victims.

A Step in the Right Direction

Torrential rains leading to floods in Pakistan have displaced hundreds of thousands of people. This new emergency has just occurred a week after the United States Congress passed the Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2010, which, amongst other initiatives, gives funding to refugees and displaced people in Pakistan and elsewhere. This money will make a real difference to victims in humanitarian crises.

Refugees International Statement on Pakistan

Torrential rains over the past week in Pakistan have displaced hundreds of thousands, and left a devastating toll in the country’s northwest as well as parts of Balochistan and Punjab provinces. Authorities estimate that more than 1,100 people are dead, while 1.5 million people have been affected by the disaster. The government has mobilized the army to rescue stranded families, and distribute clean water, food and shelter to those who have lost their homes.

Refugees International Applauds Congress on Passing Bill That Gives New Funding to Refugees

Washington, D.C. –Refugees International applauded Congress today for voicing concern that US money may be funding Pakistani security forces that have allegedly committed gross human rights violations. In the Combined Supplemental Appropriations Act of Fiscal Year 2010 that passed Tuesday July 27, 2010, Congress affirmed the US Governments commitment to monitor Pakistani security forces that receive U.S. funding . The bill also allocated essential funding to help refugees and internally displaced people in areas devastated by conflict and natural disasters.

Reuters: Relief agencies urge Pakistan army to agree new aid rules

Aid agencies in Pakistan have drawn up guidelines for their relationship with the military to protect their neutrality and enable them to reach civilians caught up in the army's operations against the Taliban.

Read the full article

June 4, 2010
Refugees International's president Dan Glickman and senior advocate Patrick Duplat assessed conditions for displaced people in Pakistan in May 2010. This footage is from their visit to the Jalozai Camp in Peshawar, which now holds approximately 107,000 internally displaced people.

The UN estimates the current number of displaced at 1.24 million, of whom at least 130,000 have left conflict zones since the start of the year. This is in addition to the 1.7 million Afghan refugees hosted by Pakistan.
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