Extremely concerned at the plight of some 70,000 Afghan refugees living in an insecure, makeshift site in Pakistan, the United Nations has begun providing them with temporary emergency assistance pending a more permanent decision on their relocation.

The aid community is facing increasing obstacles from Taliban authorities in carrying out its work in Afghanistan, in violation of agreements that spell out conditions for continued humanitarian assistance by the United Nations, the Islamabad-based Office of the UN Coordinator for Afghanistan said today.

Following recent high-level contacts between the United Nations and the Taliban, the UN has agreed to close a number of its political offices in Afghanistan, a spokesman for the world body said today.

A high-level Taliban minister said today that the group would not honour a temporary truce that was sought by the visiting head of the United Nations refugee agency in an effort to bring aid to vulnerable Afghans currently inaccessible in the conflict-ravaged country.