The United Nations has announced it has set up 15 camps in Pakistan capable of handling 150,000 refugees following efforts to prepare for an exodus of Afghans fleeing the conflict in their homeland.
"The infrastructure is there, everything is pre-positioned and we are ready to go," United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) spokesman Ron Redmond told reporters in the southwestern town of Quetta.
The UNHCR had warned it was not ready for a huge influx of refugees, citing problems with Pakistani authorities and an initial lack of funding in setting up the camps.
Up to 60,000 Afghans have already fled the conflict into Pakistan by illegally crossing the officially closed border, according to the UN.
Almost all have joined the large Afghan refugee community.
The UNHCR has repeatedly appealed for Pakistan to open its borders to the refugees and today urged the authorities to at least permit those who had already crossed to enter the new camps.
The 15 new camps are in southern Baluchistan and the North West Frontier Province, both of which border Afghanistan and the home of most Afghan refugees.
In Baluchistan province, food capable of feeding 150,000 refugees for seven months is now stored in a warehouse and would be continually replenished.
One of the biggest problems in setting up the camps has been ensuring water supplies, with Pakistani authorities forcing the UNHCR to build the centres in remote areas.
But the High Commissioner said all the camps would have access to water, either through wells or through tanked supplies being brought in.
AFP