Enemies Race to Offer Flood Aid in Pakistan

Peshawar. When torrential rains flooded Pakistan and sparked the country's worst-ever humanitarian crisis, hard line Islamic charities moved fast. Faster even than the government.

Banned in Pakistan and on a UN terror list, Jamaat-ud-Dawa is one of a number of Islamic organizations that have been highly visible in the battle to help provide relief to millions of survivors.

Filling a void created by the perceived failure of the civilian government to mobilize, fears are growing in the United States that such charities are using soft power to propagate extremism in the nuclear-armed state.

Pakistan's Taliban have now urged the government to reject American aid in favor of $20 million of Taliban aid. There was no indication that the militia can or will pay, but the battle for hearts and minds has been drawn.

http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/world/enemies-race-to-offer-flood-aid-in-pakistan/390740