United Nations Radio

Staff at the UN refugee agency in Islamabad, Pakistan, on Friday paid tribute to a co-worker and other UN personnel killed this week in a terrorist attack.

Displaced woman in Pakistan

Aleksandar Vorkapic died alongside four colleagues from UNICEF and the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) in the bombing of the Pearl Continental Hotel in Peshawar on Tuesday night. The 44-year-old father of three from Serbia was deployed to Pakistan last month to help thousands of people displaced in the north-west of the country.

UNHCR spokesman William Spindler says the agency is reviewing its operations and assessing what adjustments need to be made to ensure the safety of its staff in Pakistan.

"There is no question of pulling out. We are committed to helping the millions of displaced people in the region. Our operations have continued this week, and we have been working with our partners to register new arrivals in camps and to improve conditions."

Spindler notes UNHCR had been grappling with the operational challenges posed by security risks in Pakistan for some time.

He said that despite the difficult security environment, the agency continues to help 1.7 million Afghan refugees in the region and, more recently, roughly 2 million internally displaced Pakistanis.

This is Dianne Penn for UN Radio.

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