Commission on Human Rights. the Soviet Union is massacring freedom fighters and civilians alike in Afghanistan. Mr. President. nowhere on the globe is there a more pressing need for humanitarian assistance than in the Afghan refugee camps in Pakistan. The Soviet reign of terror has forced onethird of the Afghan population to flee their country. Nearly 3 million Afghan refugees are now in Pakistan. creating the largest refugee population in the world. Over 11/2 million Afghan refugees are in Iran. and thousands of others have taken refuge in India. The health of the Afghan refugees is a serious problem. Tuberculosis and malaria appear to have a higher incidence among the refugees than among the Pakistani population. According to U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees/World Health Organization estimates. between 25 and 30 percent of refugee children are infected with tuberculosis. The Pakistani Government deserves a great deal of credit for making a bad situp.tion bearable for the Afghan refugees. Relations between the Pakistani people and the refugees are generally good. However. the tremendous influx of refugees into the country has certainly taken its toll on Pakistan. and it cannot be assumed that relations will remain good indefinitely. Mr. President. in view of the plight of the Afghan refugee population and the tremendous burden their influx has placed on Pakistan. I urge the Department of Defense to use this new extension of authority in humanitarian assistance to Pakistan to ease the suffering and misery of the Afghan people in exile.e
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Refugees refugee refugees