With an eye on the drought situation that has gripped India, the United Nations (UN)have issued a warning that drought in Pakistan and Afghanistan could threaten millions of people andlivestock.

"We do have a very critical situation,' said Onder Yucer, the UN's resident coordinator for Pakistan. Yucer had earlier approached the heads of several other UN agencies based in Pakistan to seek emergency assistance to help the victims of drought in the country's south-western province of Baluchistan and areas in the southern province of Sindh.

From the government's side, chief executive of Pakistan General Pervez Musharraf has released Rs 1 billion each to Sindh and Baluchistan for relief operations in the drought-hit regions of the two provinces.

While assessment is still on to determine the exact number of drought victims, Pakistani officials estimate that two to three million people are faced with starvation because of the drought conditions. Most of these victims who have been severely affected by lack of food and water are from the rural areas.

The UN has also appealed for help to tackle drought in Afghanistan. According to relief workers in Afghanistan, more than 2.5 million people