LONDON, Nov 24: British Prime Minister Tony Blair on Thursday pledged another £25 million ($43 million) in humanitarian relief assistance for Pakistan, bringing the total amount of money pledged by his government to £128 million. Another £40 million has come from the UK in the shape of public donations.

The latest aid pledge was announced after Mr Blair held a meeting at 10 Downing Street with four British MPs, Pakistan’s High Commissioner, United Nations officials and the Secretary of State for International Development.

A spokesperson for British MP Sadiq Khan told Dawn that Mr Blair had announced an extra £25 million for the reconstruction of quake-hit areas in Pakistan.

This amount follows last week’s announcement of an additional £70 million and brings the total pledged by Britain up to £128 million.

Mr Khan welcomed the announcement and said, “This means that a total of £128 million has now been pledged by the UK government, alongside a further £40 million in public donations.”

He said many citizens and governments were reluctant to offer aid because they feared that the money would not be invested appropriately and effectively.