IDPs qeue at camp

United Nations team visited Pakistan and alarm the world about the on going crisis by calling it not only the world’s biggest but the worst Humanitarian crisis, with aid workers struggling to reach many of the two million people who have fled fighting.

Rashid Khalikov, director of the UN humanitarian office in New York, appealed for more funds to help the massive numbers crammed into dusty camps or in relatives’ homes, seeking refuge from an anti-Taliban assault.

‘I would say that it is one of the worst displacement crises,’ said Khalikov, who is currently visiting Pakistan.

‘We have this massive number of people that got displaced and the absolutely horrible speed with which this happened. They got displaced into a hostile climate zone, they are not used to living in these kind of temperatures.’

Pakistan’s military launched a blistering offensive against Taliban positions in the northwest districts of Lower Dir and Buner in late April and in Swat early this month, in a bid to ‘eliminate’ the Islamist hardliners.

Only 15 percent of the freshly displaced are sheltering in official camps, he said. The rest are staying with families, creating logistical hurdles in the delivery of aid to a scattered community. The hygienic and sanitary conditions are not up to standard in the refuhgee camps. It is very hot and the vulnerability in terms of health increases dramatically in these kinds of conditions. Pakistan has said Lower Dir and Buner are back under government control and urged people to return, but the UN had not seen any large movement of people and expected the crisis to drag on.