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| Obama asks for $200mn more for displaced people in Pak |
| Lalit K Jha/ PTI / Washington Jun 04, 2009, 10:17 IST |
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US President Barack Obama has asked the Congress to approve another $200 million to address the emanating "serious humanitarian crisis" in Pakistan, due to exodus of more than 2.5 million people from restive NWFP, escaping military operations against Taliban.
In a letter to the US House of Representative Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, hours before he left on his overseas trip, Obama said these funds would provide urgent relief to the refugees of Pakistan. The request was part of the new supplemental request sent to the Congress for the H1N1 virus.
"To date there are over 2.5 million displaced people in Pakistan, many of whom have fled their homes because of Pakistani government's counterinsurgency campaign," Obama said, adding that the money would be used to address the serious humanitarian crisis developing in Pakistan.
"These funds will provide displaced people in Pakistan with urgent relief and resettlement assistance," he said.
Richard Holbrooke, the Special US Envoy for Pakistan and Afghanistan, has already announced another $200 million humanitarian assistance for the Swat Valley refugees. Obama has sent him to have a first hand assessment of the situation on the ground.
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