The United Nations office in Afghanistan announced to halt its operations in eastern Kunar province of Afghanistan.
UN Special Envoy to Afghanistan Jan Kubiš during his visit to easern Kunar province said that local UN offices will be closed in this province in the near future.
Jan Kubiš said local UN office in Kunar province will be closed in the month of October however he said United Nations will continue to its cooperation in this province.
He said, “We will continue to our joint cooperation and support local residents and local governance in this province despite the office will be closed.”
This comes as UN officials in Afghanistan earlier said around 9 offices out of 23 UN offices will be closed across the country by the end of 2012.
Officials in the central UN office in Kabul said United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) is due to reduce 1/3 of its local staff due to the reduction of budget.
The announcement by UN to reduce its opertions in Afghanistan comes amid withdrawal of NATO troops from Afghanistan and growing expectations that the UN will expand its operations once NATO troops leave Afghanistan.
Jan Kubiš UN Special Envoy to Afghanistan during his visit to Kunar province also told local officials to step up actions in order to prevent cross-border shelling from Pakistan in this province.
He said he ws aware of the concerns regarding the cross-border shelling and vowed to seriously follow the issue in a bid to prevent the attacks.
Cross-border shelling from Pakistan into provinces of Afghanistan has been continuing during the past few months which has killed or injured several Afghan civilians despite incurring damages and forcing local residents to flee from the area.
Afghan lawmakers also recently dismissed Afghan interior and defense ministers for being unable to resolve the issue.
