Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: United States Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees, and Migration Nancy Izzo Jackson visited Pakistan from May 31 to June 2.

During the visit, she reaffirmed the United States’ long-term commitment to humanitarian assistance to victims of the Afghan conflict and appreciated Pakistan’s role in hosting one of the world’s largest and most protected refugee populations, saying, “I am proud to say the US joins Pakistan in its enduring commitment to humanitarian assistance… Our nations are friends and we are partners, joined together in this cause by the belief that we have a responsibility to help those who are suffering from violence, persecution or conflict.”

Izzo Jackson met with Minister for States and Frontier Regions (SAFRON) Abdul Qadir Baloch, Minister for Human Rights Kamran Michael, Interior Ministry Secretary Tariq Mahmood Khan, the education ministers of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the Afghan DCM to Pakistan; World Bank officials, and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) officials.

She also had the opportunity to speak with Afghan refugees at the Proof of Registration Card Modification Center in Rawalpindi. In fiscal year 2016 and to date in fiscal year 2017, the United States has provided nearly $243 million dollars in humanitarian assistance to Afghan refugees, returnees, and host communities in the region.

The US remains the largest, single-country contributor to UNHCR, and provides additional support to non-governmental organizations. She noted, “No country, no community, and no single person can be expected to shoulder the responsibility of caring for so many displaced people, and I am proud that the US is partnering with UNHCR and seven different NGOs in the field – including two Pakistani organisations – to make sure that assistance is given where it is most needed.”