Afghan women who are living in Pakistan wait to get registered during a proof of registration drive at United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office in Peshawar, Pakistan September 30, 2021.
REUTERS/Fayaz Aziz/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsWASHINGTON, Oct 19 (Reuters) - The United States "strongly" encouraged Afghanistan's neighbors, including Pakistan, to allow entry for Afghans seeking protection and urged them to uphold obligations in treatment of refugees, the U.S. State Department said on Thursday.
Pakistan has hosted the largest number of Afghan refugees since the Soviet invasion of Kabul in 1979.
Islamabad says the number of Afghan refugees in Pakistan totaled 4.4 million.
KEY QUOTE"We strongly encourage Afghanistan's neighbors, including Pakistan, to allow entry for Afghans seeking international protection and to coordinate with international humanitarian organizations ... to provide humanitarian assistance," a U.S. State Department spokesperson told reporters on Thursday.
Persons:
Fayaz Aziz, Simon Lewis, Kanishka Singh
Organizations:
United Nations, Refugees, REUTERS, Rights, U.S . State Department, Thomson
Locations:
Pakistan, Peshawar, United States, Islamabad, Kabul, Afghanistan, U.S