EU promises refugee aid to Pakistan

An EU delegation today promised to help Pakistan cope with a flood of refugees expected to stream in from Afghanistan if the United States attacks.

The pledge was given at the first stop of a tour of the Middle East by a high-ranking EU delegation seeking to shore up support for an international campaign against terrorism and to assure regional governments of Europe’s support.

Western diplomats said they wanted to send the message that the fight against terror is not a fight against Islam.

‘‘We know that fanatics in the last few days have defiled Islam - we know there is no way at all in which you can judge Islam by these foul acts, any more than you can judge, for example, Christianity or the West through terrorist acts’’ by Basque separatists or the IRA, said EU External Relations Commissioner Chris Patten in Islamabad.

Pakistani Foreign Minister Abdul Sattar told the delegation that Pakistan was already playing host to more than two million refugees who fled Afghanistan when the Soviets invaded in 1979, triggering a decade-long war.

‘‘Pakistan does not have the means and resources to assist another influx of refugees into our country,’’ he said.

‘‘We would not like these people to come and settle down here forever. So we have shared our apprehensions and we hope that the world community will take this humanitarian crisis into consideration and help these poor people, innocent people, who are faced with starvation.’’

Belgian Foreign Minister Louis Michel said the EU would give £12m in emergency assistance to help Pakistan with the refugees and begin talks soon on setting up new ‘‘programs of co-operation’’.