UN to pull some staff from Pakistan over security

The United Nations will withdraw some of its staff from Pakistan over safety concerns, a UN spokeswoman said on Thursday, underscoring security challenges facing the pro-American government.                                           

"Some percentage of the international staff will be relocated and this relocation includes within the country and outside the country to safer locations," spokeswoman Ishrat Rizvi told Reuters.                                           

Despite security crackdowns, Taliban militants have been carrying out bombings that have spread from their strongholds along a northwest tribal belt to major cities.                                           

Rizvi said the relocation was decided because "the safety and security situation in the country and safety of staff members is highly important for the United Nations". She said the decision would not end any UN projects in Pakistan.                                           

In October, a suicide bomber dressed as a paramilitary soldier blew himself up in an office of the UN World Food Programme (WFP) in Islamabad, killing five members of staff.                                           

The Taliban, who reject any ties with Western powers and want to impose their radical version of Islam, claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing that killed 43 people in the commercial capital of Karachi on Monday.