India still debating whether to send aid to Pakistan

NEW DELHI: As Pakistan's hapless millions prepare for another flood surge, the government is debating whether to send flood relief to Pakistan and what form it should take.
Considering India is invariably one of the first to rush emergency aid and relief to countries in the neighbourhood, its hesitation in this instance is baffling to say the least. The MEA, normally quite good with rolling out aid diplomacy, has been unusually reticent.Though the rest of the world, apart from the US, has not been overly generous, India's complete silence is raising eyebrows.
During Pakistan's massive earthquake in October 2005, India sent three consignments of relief material like tents, blankets medicines etc. For the first time ever, IAF planes landed in Islamabad to deliver relief material.
But afterwards, officials reported that Pakistani authorities had ripped off `made in India' labels from relief material before distributing them, because it was easier to believe that India had not helped out during the earthquake. India had also made a cash contribution to Pakistan's relief efforts, but Pakistan never used it, which led to a feeling of rejection in the Indian side.
Nevertheless, India may have passed up on a unique diplomatic opportunity with Pakistan, even if the latter rejected India's overtures. Pakistan's calamity this time is several times worse than the 2005 earthquake. Earlier this year, India sent $5 million in aid to faraway Haiti.
Haiti received far more aid from the world, but Pakistan, whose calamity is far greater, is finding it an uphill task. Now that UN secretary general Ban-ki Moon has issued a worldwide appeal for over $450 million as aid to Pakistan, India may come forward with some relief. But India may have lost a big opportunity.
It's not like world aid is pouring in for Pakistan. China, Pakistan's closest ally, has given $1.5 million in flood relief assistance so far, though this may go up, Chinese news media said. Finland and Norway have given more to Pakistan, and China too gave about $4.5 million to Haiti. The US, which has pledged $55 million, is the biggest donor, and US helicopters have shuttled aid in and refugees out of Pakistan's Swat valley.
Australian PM Julia Gillard announced she would send two aircraft with emergency supplies to Pakistan. Turkey gave $5 million while the EU gave 10 million euros in emergency aid. Even Saudi Arabia has been less than generous.
In New York, Pakistan's UN ambassador Abdullah Hussein Haroon said his country had "suffered" as a result of British PM David Cameron's comments on Pakistan, which slowed public donations.
Islamist groups inside Pakistan have been at the forefront of distributing relief and aid to the victims, which is raising alarm bells in the rest of the world, which is trying hard to get Pakistan to turn its back on the fundamentalists there. These floods have only helped to secure their position. This week, the Pakistan Taliban asked everybody to reject international aid.