Pak wants Indian aid to be routed through UN

Rezaul H Laskar
Islamabad, Aug 29 (PTI) After vacillating on India's
offer of USD five million aid for victims of Pakistan's
devastating floods for over two weeks, Islamabad has decided
not to directly accept the assistance and instead asked that
it should be routed through the United Nations.
"We suggested to India to send the aid money via the
UN, as many of its agencies are also working (in flood relief
operations in Pakistan)," Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit
told the media.
The decision to route the aid through the UN was made
as part of Pakistan's policies, Basit said.
He also said the government had "commended" India's
offer of aid.
The offer was initially conveyed by India's External
Affairs Minister S M Krishna to his Pakistani counterpart Shah
Mahmood Qureshi during a phone conversation on August 13.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh reiterated the offer
when he called his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani on
August 19.
The acceptance of the offer was finally announced by
Qureshi on August 20 during a visit to the US to drum up aid
for flood victims from the international community.
Sources said Pakistan's Foreign Office had formally
informed India through diplomatic channels that the aid should
be donated to the UN's appeal for USD 460 million for an
emergency response plan.
Following Qureshi's acceptance of the offer, which
observers said was the result of pressure from the US, the
Foreign Office held intensive deliberations on modalities for
accepting the Indian assistance.
Over the past few days, several media reports quoting
unnamed Foreign Office officials had said that Pakistan could
accept the Indian aid only through the UN.
Sections of the Pakistani media that are critical of
India had openly called for the aid to be rejected as it was
linked to "Kashmiri blood" – a reference to the deaths during
violent protests in the northernmost Indian state of Jammu and
Kashmir.
Some media commentators said the amount offered by
India was paltry. They also said India could have offered more
assistance as its economy is growing.
Media reports also said the powerful military
establishment was of the opinion that Indian aid should come
through the UN.
Asked about the Indian offer at a recent news
conference, Qureshi had referred to the "different nature of
relations" with India and sensitivities involved in bilateral
ties.
The floods have killed over 1,700 people and affected
20 million in Pakistan. Around 1.2 million homes have been
destroyed or damaged. PTI RHL
MYR



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