ISLAMABAD The Foreign Office commended on Thursday relief work being carried out by religious charities, some of which are known to be aligned with militant organisations.
He appeared to confirm fears that these groups might be winning the battle of hearts and minds in the flood-affected region.
In a diplomatically phrased reply to a question about the involvement of jihadi groups in relief activities, Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit said at his weekly briefing “NGOs are working in the field and they are providing useful assistance, complementing the government's efforts and that is appreciated.”
His words reminded one of Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf who at the time of the 2005 earthquake said similar things “I know that some extremist outfits placed on the government's watch list are participating in relief activities in quake-affected areas... everyone is motivated right now to help the quake victims. And I am not going to prevent anyone from helping the people.”
Mr Basit did not agree with the idea of linking charities to jihadi groups. “It is all very easy to term any particular NGO as a jihadi organisation. I do not really know how you define a particular NGO as a jihadi organisation.”
He insisted that the 'NGOs' backed by political or religious organisations needed to be appreciated for the “commendable job” instead of being stigmatised with “nomenclatures”.
It is also noteworthy that the fear of extremism is being linked to the slow international response to the floods. An overriding concern has been the apprehension that the funds may end up being used to the benefit of extremist groups.
But Mr Basit said it was encouraging to note that despite a sluggish start the international assistance was finally picking up.
