Pak yet to decide on Indian aid; brushes aside US suggestion

Rezaul H Laskar
Islamabad, Aug 19 (PTI) Brushing aside the US' suggestion
that it accept India's aid offer for its flood victims,
Pakistan Thursday said it will do what it believes is "right"
while it is yet to decide on the USD five million assistance
extended by New Delhi.
The remarks came as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
called his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani offering
more assistance to this country to handle devastation caused
by the deluge, the worst in 80 years.
The Pakistan government is considering India's aid
proposal and no decision has been made in this regard, Foreign
Office spokesman Abdul Basit told reporters in response to a
question.
"We appreciate the gesture by India. Their offer has been
conveyed to relevant authorities and the matter is under
consideration," he said.
To another question about State Department spokesman P J
Crowley's remarks that the US expects Pakistan to accept the
aid from India, Basit said: "Pakistan is a sovereign country
and we will take a decision according to what we believe is
the right thing to do."
During his telephonic conversation with Gilani, Singh
said in such times of natural disasters, all of South Asia
should rise to the occasion and extend every possible help to
the people of Pakistan affected by the tragedy.
Last week, India's External Affairs Minister S M Krishna
had called his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi and
offered USD five million in aid for flood relief work.
Nearly one-fifth of Pakistan has been badly hit by the
floods. Over 1,700 people have died and the UN says more than
6,50,000 people are without basic shelter while six million
desperately need emergency aid. PTI RHL
RDM


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