ISLAMABAD, Oct 9 (Reuters) – The world should urgently provide promised aid to Afghanistan, the U.N. refugee agency said on Saturday, warning that a lack of resources is hampering efforts to avert an economic crisis that could push fresh flows of refugees to its neighbours and beyond.
“The humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan remains really dire,” Babar Baloch, spokesperson for the U.N. High Commmissioner for Refugees, said in an interview in Islamabad.
“The focus has to be inside Afghanistan to avoid and avert another refugee crisis.”
Since the Taliban took over Afghanistan on Aug. 15, the country – already struggling with drought and severe poverty from decades of war – has seen its economy all but collapse.
Most of the nation’s international assistance has been cut off, though there are exceptions for humanitarian aid. Billions of dollars in central bank assets held abroad have also been frozen, which has put pressure on the banking…
