 BRUSSELS: The European Commission (EC) pledged on Thursday $7.5 million as emergency humanitarian aid for the hundreds of thousands of affected civilians in the conflict-ridden northwest of Pakistan. Over 834,000 civilians have now fled a military assault on the Taliban, holed up in Pakistan's rugged northwest, where artillery pounded rebel bastions on Thursday.
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"As a result of the intensified fighting in Swat and other parts of the country, Pakistan is facing not only a security threat but also a humanitarian threat," said European Humanitarian Aid Commissioner Louis Michel. "Pakistani authorities are doing their utmost but their relief capacities are now overstretched," he said, announcing the release of $7.5 million aid while adding that more could be provided "if necessary".
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The European Union's (EU) executive arm stressed that its aid was provided on a neutral basis for the provision of basic humanitarian needs such as food, shelter, clothes and medical support. All the funds would be channelled to the projects run by non-governmental relief organisations, specialised UN agencies and the Red Thingy Cross movement. |