A group of donor representatives opened a two-day meeting here Thursday to discuss the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan amid mounting tensions between aid workers and the ruling Taliban militia.
The 16-member Afghan Support Group (ASG) meeting in the Pakistani capital will review the aid response to the emergency in Afghanistan, where more than 800,000 people have become homeless since mid-2000 due to war and drought.
German Ambassador to Pakistan Hans-Joachim Daerr said the political and human rights situations in Afghanistan would be among the ASG's considerations.
The United Nations has recently lodged strong protests with the fundamentalist militia over growing incidents of abuse and harassment of aid workers in the troubled country.
It is also understood to be seeking legal advice on a new code of conduct which the Taliban will require all foreigners to sign.
The code is designed to make foreigners abide by the Taliban's strict version of Islamic law, but aid workers are concerned its vague provisions could be used for political reasons.
"How are we going to work in the wake of the Taliban's restrictive actions, which are increasing day by day?" Daerr, who is the rotating chief of the ASG, was quoted as saying in the News daily.
He said humanitarian aid could be halted altogether unless the Taliban started cooperating with the relief community.
UN country coordinator Erick de Mul has also warned that the world body may have no choice but to close its humanitarian projects unless the Taliban created a secure operational environment.
The UN estimates more than a million Afghans could face famine this year unless massive international assistance is forthcoming.
But efforts to raise funds from the international community have been stymied by the Taliban's record of human rights abuses and the ongoing war between the militia and opposition forces -- ISLAMABAD (AFP)
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
