UNHCR vows to stay in Pakistan despite blasts

The United Nations' refugee agency said yesterday it would not pull out of Pakistan despite the killing of one of its expatriate employees in this week's Peshawar hotel bomb attack.
"There is no question of pulling out," UNHCR spokesman William Splinder told reporters in the aftermath of Tuesday's attack at the Pearl Continental hotel in the northwest city of Peshawar which left at least nine people dead.
"In the wake of this recent attack, however, we are reviewing the way we operate and assessing what adjustments need to be made to ensure the safety of our staff," added Splinder.
Among those killed was Serbian national Aleksandar Vorkapic, who worked for the UNHCR, and Perseveranda So of the Philippines, who worked for the children's agency Unicef.
Splinder said that the UNHCR's staff of more than 200, based in offices in Islamabad, Peshawar and the southwestern city of Quetta, were carrying out vital work in Pakistan where ongoing battles between government forces and Taliban insurgents have displaced hundreds of thousands of families.
"Despite the difficult security environment, we have continued our work in the region helping 1.7 million Afghan refugees and more recently some two million internally displaced Pakistanis," said the spokesman.