Pak not decided yet on Indian aid offer for flood victims

Diplomatic sources told PTI that "no decision" had been made as yet on the offer that was conveyed by External Affairs Minister S M Krishna to his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi during a telephone conversation on Friday.

Asked about the matter, Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit told PTI: "We appreciate this offer made by India. It has been conveyed to the relevant authorities".
He did not give details.

Krishna, in his conversation with Qureshi on Friday, had described the offer of aid as a "gesture of solidarity with the people of Pakistan in their hour of need".
A statement issued by the Foreign Office following the telephone conversation between Krishna and Qureshi on Friday made no mention of the aid offered by India.
The statement only said that Qureshi had thanked Krishna for expressing concern over the floods.

The floods triggered by unusually heavy monsoon rains have killed over 1,700 people and affected 20 million.

The deluge has also destroyed millions of acres of crop land and washed away key roads, bridges and communications infrastructure.

Meanwhile, the Daily Times newspaper quoted its sources as saying that Pakistan might accept the Indian aid if it is routed through the United Nations.
Pakistan had accepted aid from India when a devastating earthquake struck the Kashmir region in 2005.

India had then sent three consignments of relief materials in military aircraft