President Asif Ali Zardari appealed for global aid on Tuesday for the hundreds of thousands of civilians displaced by the fighting against Taliban militants in Swat valley and adjoining areas. "We're appealing to the world, myself and the (UN) secretary general... to draw attention on the human catastrophe that is taking place," he told reporters after conferring with UN chief Ban Ki-moon.
"They (civilians) are losing their crops, they're losing their earnings, their livelihood and their homes, so we want the world to help us," he added. "The secretary general has been kind enough to accept our appeal to him and he is going to appeal to the world with us jointly to help Pakistan."
Ban meanwhile told reporters that in his meeting with Zardari, he expressed his "deep concern" about the humanitarian situation in north-western Pakistan where commandos are stepping up a punishing offensive against militants that has now displaced more than half a million people.
Tens of thousands of terrified civilians have been streaming out of three battle-torn north-west districts each day, with the UN refugee agency saying that 501,496 stranded people had registered with authorities since May 2.
Pakistani troops have opened up a new front in the district's northern mountains, the suspected stronghold of Taliban commander Maulana Fazlullah and his top lieutenants behind a nearly two-year uprising that has devastated the area. "I expressed my deep concern and I expect President Zardari to take all necessary care to protect the civilian population," the UN boss said. "The UN is ready to stand by to provide the necessary humanitarian assistance."
Ban said he asked the Pakistani leader "to facilitate the smooth delivery of humanitarian assistance and the protection of humanitarian workers," adding "it is a very serious situation." A UN statement said Ban "supported the fight against extremism and expressed confidence and trust in the leadership of President Zardari." In Geneva, UN humanitarian chief John Holmes earlier on Tuesday said he would "substantially" increase an aid appeal for Pakistan after half a million people fled the conflict in the north-west over the past 10 days.
The United Nations had made an appeal for 165.9 million dollars for humanitarian aid in Pakistan for 2008-2009. "Clearly that is not going to be enough, Holmes, who runs the Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), told journalists. He said that even before the latest fighting between the military and Taliban in north-west Pakistan, the United Nations was already dealing with about half a million displaced people in the country. With half a million more people fleeing in the past 10 days, "it is a situation that we are struggling to keep up with," Holmes said.