ISLAMABAD, May 11: The International Committee of the Red Cross currently reviewing its future presence in Pakistan following the murder of its health worker in Balochistan has said that the committee will continue to provide the required support to the ICRC-funded projects.

The deputy head of the ICRC in Pakistan, Martienus de Boer informed Pakistan Red Crescent Society secretary-general Brig (retd) Mahbub Sardar in a letter that ICRC-supported activities in all the provinces, AJK and Fata would continue as planned.

The Pakistani Red Crescent Society remains the ICRC’s main operational partner in joint activities to provide essential relief and services to people affected by fighting and flooding.

PRCS spokesman Khalid Bin Majeed told Dawn that the ICRC had committed Rs203 million to the society this year in areas of disaster management, mine risk education, restoring family links in the event of a natural disaster, health and emergency response and first-aid training.

Pakistan has been among the top 10 countries where the ICRC has been carrying out its operations since 2011 and listed at number four after Afghanistan, Somalia and Iraq.

The ICRC slashed its emergency appeal budget for Pakistan by 20 per cent from 82.4 million Swiss francs in 2011 to 66.2 million Swiss francs for the current year. Its current operational focus is on assisting victims of violence in Fata, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.