IOM is continuing to respond to the needs of Afghan families displaced by the ongoing military operation in Pakistan’s North Waziristan. On Sunday and Monday, aid distributions benefitting 200 vulnerable Afghan families were carried out in Afghanistan’s Khost and Paktika provinces.

Military operations in North Waziristan have resulted in the displacement of thousands of families living along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. Most of the families have sought refuge from the fighting in the neighbouring Afghan provinces of Khost and Paktika.

Among the displaced are a number of Afghan families who had been living in Pakistan for an average of some 30 years. These families have mainly settled in host communities, and are in need of basic household items and other assistance. IOM field teams have assessed over 330 displaced Afghan families in Khost and Paktika to date, gathering vital information to help humanitarian partners respond to their needs.

The distributions on Sunday and Monday took place in Matoon district of Khost, where 152 families were assisted, and Orgun and Sarobi districts of Paktika, where 48 families were assisted. With the generous support of the Government of Japan, IOM provided each family with a non-food item (NFI) kit containing kitchen supplies, a jerry can, soap, a gas cylinder and stove, chlorine solution and blankets. Hygiene kits provided by a partner agency were also distributed.

As families continue to cross the border into Afghanistan, IOM is working to track their movements, needs and intentions in coordination with local authorities and humanitarian partners.

“These families are scattered throughout Khost and Paktika, so reaching them to determine their needs and provide assistance can be difficult,” said IOM Programme Manager Omar Majeedi. “Our teams are working closely with local communities to make sure that we are able to assist vulnerable Afghan families returning from North Waziristan, wherever they may be.”

To date, IOM has distributed assistance to a total of 338 families in Khost and Paktika. Additional relief supplies have been mobilized from IOM’s network of warehouses across Afghanistan in preparation for future distributions.

For further information please contact Matt Graydon in Kabul (+93 794 100 546, mgraydon@iom.int).