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US, Pakistan Warn Extremists Could Exploit Flood

19 August 2010

Pakistani and U.S. officials are urging the international community to respond swiftly to Pakistan's devastating floods to counter the possibility of extremists exploiting the disaster.

Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman John Kerry toured flood-ravaged areas of the country on Thursday and warned that Islamist militants could take advantage of the frustration of flood survivors.

The floods triggered by monsoon rains have killed an estimated 1,600 people and affected 20 million in Pakistan's Khyber-Paktunkhwa, Punjab and Sindh provinces, roughly one-fifth of the country's territory.

On Thursday, the United Nations said more than 4 million people have been left homeless - double the previous U.N. estimate.

Senator Kerry said the United States will increase its aid (from $90 million) to $150 million. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is expected to announce the increase during a special session of the U.N. General Assembly on Thursday.

The U.N. last week issued an appeal for $460 million for relief efforts.

Aid agencies have been pushing for more funding as they try to provide clean water, food and shelter and prevent outbreaks of disease.

The U.N. Children's Fund said Thursday it would triple its emergency aid appeal for flood victims from $47 million to $141 million, because the number of people needing emergency aid has grown considerably.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi are expected to address Thursday's General Assembly session. Earlier in the day, Qureshi called for more international aid, noting that Pakistan does not have enough resources to face the disaster alone.

The Asian Development Bank has said it will give $3 million for emergency relief, and expects to contribute at least $2 billion to recovery efforts during the next two years.

Saudi Arabia announced Thursday it was increasing its aid to Pakistan by $80 million.

Japan says it will send helicopters to help in relief efforts. The country has already extended more than $14 million in assistance.

And Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani on Thursday to express sympathy over the devastation.