UNHCR should provide adequate finance to countries hosting refugees: Qureshi

(Karachi) Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has said that the UNHCR should support and provide adequate finance related to refugee support programmes in countries that are hosting refugees.

Addressing a conference in Islamabad on Tuesday, he said that Covid-19 has been spreading at a fast pace both in developed and under developed countries. "The economies of developing countries are far more burdened by the coronavirus pandemic than the developed world," he mentioned.

The FM maintained that economy of Pakistan has been badly affected by coronavirus outbreak. He added despite economic crisis, Pakistan has been hosting a large number of Afghan refugees. "The refugees are being provided all facilities, including food and medical treatment," he stated.

He added Pakistan, that is hosting a large population of refugees from Afghanistan, receives the bare minimum support from UNHCR. He highlighted that though Pakistan has adopted a "holistic approach" to aid its people, including the refugees, in these difficult times, the country needed support from UNHCR to provide facilities to its refugee population.