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Pakistan accepts Israeli quake aid
Pakistan accepted Israel's offer of aid, albeit through a third party, on Saturday following the massive earthquake that killed tens of thousands of people one week ago. Pakistan gave Jerusalem a list of items it needs, including tents, blankets, plastic sheets for protection against the rain and for collecting bodies, water-purification equipment and dry-food packages such as biscuits. However, Pakistan also said that the aid would have to be channeled through the United Nations, the Red Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam said since the two countries do not have diplomatic relations it could not receive aid directly from Israel. "We have established the president's relief fund and everyone is free to contribute to it. If Israel was to contribute, that's fine, we would accept it," Aslam told The Associated Press. Earlier, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Mark Regev said Israel offered the aid through direct channels with Pakistan, and will decide Sunday what teams and equipment to dispatch to the disaster zone. Regev played down the diplomatic significance of the aid effort. "At the moment, everyone is talking about how we can help hundreds of thousands of Pakistanis in the area of destruction," he said. "There is a clear international effort to help Pakistan, and Israel wants to be part of that." Israel - which has sent rescue teams to Turkey and Mexico to assist in evacuation efforts after earthquakes struck those countries - sent its offer of aid to Pakistan through "official channels" and the United Nations, said a senior government official. "The fact that there is a channel of communication is a sign of the times," the FT quoted Foreign Ministry official Mark Regev as saying. Posted by: Steve White 2005-10-16 |
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