Pak wants Indian aid to be routed through United Nations

After vacillating on India's offer of $5 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 external affairs minister SM 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 $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 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.