India hikes flood aid to Pakistan

In a major goodwill gesture, India announced its decision to increase its aid offer to Pakistan, which has been brought to its knees by floods, from $5 million to $25 million. Making a suo motu statement in Parliament, foreign minister S M Krishna said the decision was taken after a more concrete assessment of the damage inflicted by the natural disaster and the urgent needs of the people of Pakistan. Out of this amount, $20 million would be contributed to the Pakistan Initial Floods Emergency Response Plan launched by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. “The balance of $5 million would be contributed to the World Food Programme for its relief efforts in Pakistan,” said Krishna, adding that Islamabad requested New Delhi on August 27 to channel its contribution through the UN.
While India’s strategic community and security experts have expressed reservations over Pakistan’s claims about the extent of the damage, Krishna cited the figures given by the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, which show that 17.2 million people have been affected by floods.