ISLAMABAD, June 7 (Xinhuanet) -- The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has suspended repatriation of Afghan refugees in Quetta, capital of Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan province, aUNHCR press official said Monday.

    Jack Redden who worked at UNHCR Islamabad press information office told Xinhua that the UN refugee organization had to suspendits work in Quetta for security reasons.

    Redden said the work would be restarted till the security situation improved and that the UN group as well as the Pakistani authorities were assessing the situation carefully.

    "The repatriation work has been suspended till the security situation improves," said Redden, adding the UN group was not planning to withdraw its workers from Quetta at present.

    The Pakistani government has received information suggesting that terrorists were planning to carry out suicide attacks on offices of six non-governmental organizations including the UNHCR based in Quetta.

    The Balochistan provincial authorities thus have tightened security arrangements and heavy contingent of police and other law-enforcement agencies have been deployed at offices of all foreign organizations.

    The UNHCR closed its offices in Pakistan's Balochistan and North West Frontier provinces and suspended repatriation of Afghanrefugees in Nov. 2003 after a UN aid worker was killed in Afghanistan.

    It resumed the repatriation work in March only after the Pakistani and Afghan governments promised to take effective measures for the refugee workers' safety. Enditem