America sending €80m of aid to Pakistan

SECRETARY of State Hillary Clinton said the United States was sending $110 million (about €80m) in emergency humanitarian aid to Pakistan, part of the administration’s new strategy for countering the appeal of Taliban militants in the nuclear-armed American ally.

Clinton detailed the aid package at the White House, saying the money is flowing to ease the plight of about two million Pakistanis who have fled fighting in the country’s Swat Valley and are living in squalid tent cities.

The White House said Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani had appointed Brig Gen Nadeem Ahmad to lead the Pakistani relief effort. He was highly praised for his work in the relief effort after the 2005 earthquake in Kashmir.