Pakistan said it would clamp down on charities linked to Islamist militants trying to exploit anger among flood victims, amid fears their involvement in the relief effort would undermine the fight against groups like the Taliban.
While the Pakistani government overwhelmed by the scale of the disaster has struggled to reach aid to millions of people, Islamist charities with much smaller resources have moved in swiftly to fill the vacuum.
It would not be the first time the government has announced restrictions against charities tied to militant groups. Critics say any banned organizations often re-emerge under new names, with authorities uninterested in stopping their operations.
“The banned organizations are not allowed to visit flood-hit areas,” Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik said. “We will arrest members of banned organizations collecting funds and will try them under the Anti-Terrorism Act.”
Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and a senior US senator warned on Thursday that militants were trying to promote their cause during the floods, similar to what happened after an earthquake in Pakistan Kashmir in 2005.
More than 4 million Pakistanis have been made homeless by nearly three weeks of floods, making the critical task of securing greater amounts of aid more urgent.
Eight million people are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.
The floods have marooned villages, destroyed power stations and destroyed roads and bridges — lifelines for villagers — just as the government had made some progress in stabilizing the country through offensives against Taliban insurgents.
The US led a stream of pledges of more funds for Pakistan during a special meeting of the UN General Assembly on Thursday. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton promised a further US$60 million, bringing Washington’s contribution to emergency flood relief to more than US$150 million.
British Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell said London was doubling its contribution to nearly US$100 million.
Speaking for the EU, Belgian Foreign Minister Steven Vanackere promised a further 30 million euros (US$38.5 million) on top of 110 million euros already committed.
The UN has issued an appeal for US$459 million, of which UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said about 60 percent had been pledged.
The Pakistani government has also decided to accept flood aid from India, saying the offer was a “very welcome initiative” as both countries look to improve their tense relations.
Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi told India’s NDTV television in an interview broadcast yesterday that Islamabad would take India’s offer of US$5 million that was made last Friday.
“I can share with you that the government of Pakistan has agreed to accept the Indian offer,” Qureshi said from New York, where he addressed a special session of the UN General Assembly’s call to boost aid for flood victims. “I think this initiative of India is a very welcome initiative.”
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