UK aid to Pakistan to double as crisis deepens

THE Government is to double the amount of aid it is giving to flood-hit Pakistan to 60m and has challenged other countries to follow suit.

International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell made the pledge to Pakistan, where an estimated eight million people are now said to be in need of relief, following a UN meeting in New York last night.

But Mr Mitchell said it will only release money to aid agencies able to show they can deliver medicine, food, clean water and shelter to those affected by the disaster.

He told the UN General Assembly it was “unacceptable” the international community had not done more, and urged other donors to step up their efforts.

Speaking in New York, Mr Mitchell said the people of Pakistan were in dire need of more help.

“It is clear that unless more aid is delivered now, many more people will die from disease and malnutrition.

“It is deeply depressing that the international community is only now waking up to the true scale of this disaster.”

The UK is already helping more than three million people in flood-affected areas. This doubling of aid will provide water and sanitation to 500,000 people; shelter to 170,000 people and provide enough health services to cover a population of 2.4 million people.

The UN launched the special meeting of the General Assembly to try to boost the international aid commitment.

Secretary General Ban Ki-moon told the session the floods were like “a slow-motion tsunami” that presented an ongoing crisis.

The UN says it has raised nearly half the $460m (295m) wanted for initial relief but the response remained slow.

The US is also increasing its aid contribution, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has announced.

She pledged an extra $60m (38.4m), bringing the total US contribution to tackling what she called the “worst natural disaster” in Pakistan’s history to $150m (96m).

The aid announcements came as Pakistan’s president warned that Islamist terrorists may exploit the chaos and misery caused by the floods to gain new recruits.

Asif Ali Zardari’s remarks were echoed by US Senator John Kerry, who toured some of the worst hit areas and visited a relief camp alongside the president.

The floods have affected 20 million people and about one-fifth of Pakistan’s territory, putting pressure on its civilian government as it also struggles against al-Qaida and Taliban violence.

Aid groups and the United Nations have complained that foreign donors have not been quick or generous enough given the scale of the disaster.

“All these catastrophes give strength to forces who do not want a state structure,” Mr Zardari said.

“There is a possibility that the negative forces would exploit the situation. Like they would take the babies who have been made orphans and take them to their camps and train them as the terrorists of tomorrow.”

His government has been criticised for failing to respond quickly enough, and Islamist charities – at least one of which has alleged links to terrorism – have been active in the flood-hit areas.

Concerns are growing that the scale of the suffering could stoke unrest and political instability that may affect Pakistan’s fight against the Taliban.