Pakistan’s acceptance of Indian aid cautiously welcomed

ISLAMABAD - Islamabad’s acceptance of New Delhi’s $5 million aid for the flood victims was cautiously welcomed in Pakistan with an analyst saying that “the government has done well in putting politics aside and accepting the Indian offer”.

The Indian government announced the assistance for relief and rehabilitation of the calamity hit people of Pakistan over a week ago. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh also called up his Pakistani counterpart Yousaf Raza Gilani Thursday to reiterate the commitment.

The foreign office had initially said that Pakistan had not outrightly rejected the offer and the authorities concerned were looking into it.

Finally, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, on the sidelines of the UN summit in New York on flood situation, confirmed that the country has accepted the Indian offer.

Former diplomat Zafar Hilali said he was unsure whether Pakistan should have accepted the Indian offer.

He said that India had been accusing Pakistan of exporting terrorism and that has hurt the feelings on this side of the border.

Pakistan, he said, was suffering from one of the worst disasters in history and the Indian prime minister had taken three weeks before calling his Pakistani counterpart.

“It seems the Indian offer is without any sincerity of purpose and the neighbouring country is only playing to the gallery,” he said.

Pakistan’s worst ever floods, which took place early this month, have killed over 1,600 people and displaced about 20 million others in the country. The deluge submerged one-fifth of the country, making it difficult for aid workers and officials to provide relief to the victims.

Spokesperson of the main opposition party PML-N, Ahsan Iqbal, reiterated that his party’s official stance was to meet this challenge with indigenous resources.

“We should tighten the belt and cut down on the development and current expenditure to raise more than $300 billion.”

To a query on whether the acceptance of Indian offer could bring both countries closer, he said that it would be difficult to pre-judge anything at this stage.

Sajjad Naseer, a professor and a political analyst, welcomed the acceptance of the Indian assistance. He added that the initial reluctance in the backdrop of strained bilateral relations was understandable.

He said: “However, with the aid pouring in from other countries, the government has done well in putting politics aside and accept the Indian offer.”

Naseer expressed the hope this would help in breaking the ice between the two countries.

He pointed out that the country is likely to be gripped by acute shortage of food resources in the next few months and accepting Indian assistance could help in combating the challenges ahead.

Ali Nawaz, an industrialist, said it was good that both the governments were ready to move on while putting the bitterness aside.

“However, it would be too early to jump to any conclusions,” he cautioned and added that such small gestures could certainly help in easing the tensions.