UN suspends development work in northwest Pakistan

Source: AP

UN suspends development work in northwest Pakistan
By SEBASTIAN ABBOT (AP) – 23 minutes ago

ISLAMABAD — Citing security concerns, the U.N. suspended long-term development work in two key areas along Pakistan's volatile border with Afghanistan on Monday, a blow to international efforts to counter the country's rising militancy.

Underscoring the militant threat, an explosion near a bank killed four people and wounded more than a dozen in the capital's neighboring city of Rawalpindi, said police official Kashif Ayaz.

The U.N.'s decision, which applies to Pakistan's tribal areas and North West Frontier Province, comes amid a wave of recent attacks in the country that killed some 250 people last month. Eleven U.N. staff have been killed in attacks in Pakistan this year.

The U.N. will reduce the level of international staff in the country and confine its work to emergency, humanitarian relief, and security operations, and also "any other essential operations as advised by the secretary-general," the organization said in a statement.



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