US to step up aid

WASHINGTON: The US is set to step up aid to flood hit Pakistan and the Pentagon has pledged to double the number of US helicopters helping with relief efforts.

An additional 18 helicopters are expected to arrive in mid-September as part of an expanded US contribution to deal with the floods. These would be in addition to 15 helicopters and three C-130 aircraft already there.

Rajiv Shah, administrator for the US Agency for International Development (USAID), said it was clear after he personally surveyed flood damage this week that significant resources would be needed when the waters receded.

Addressing a press conference in Washington, he said that the scale of the catastrophe is astronomical

US bill to aid recovery

The leading US business lobby urged the Obama administration to help flood victims in Pakistan by getting Congress to pass stalled legislation that would allow duty-free imports of selected Pakistani products.

The Reconstruction Opportunity Zones (ROZ) bill, proposed by former President George W Bush to aid Pakistan's recovery from a deadly earthquake in 2005, has languished for years in the face of congressional opposition.

The ROZ program aims to create jobs in Pakistan and Afghanistan by providing duty-free access to the United States for certain goods made in approved zones within the two countries.

According to the US Chamber of Commerce, extending duty-free treatment to cotton trousers and shirts would boost US investment in the textile sector.

Aid workers safety in Pakistan

Admiral Mike Mullen has said the US military is taking “significant” precautions to ensure safety for its forces and US aid workers providing flood relief in northwestern Pakistan.

The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff's comments come a day after the US State Department voiced concern for American volunteers in Pakistan.

State Department spokesman Phillip Crowley had said US relief workers were fearful of a Taliban or extremist reprisal on foreigners in the flood hit country.

Mullen said he agreed such an attack would not be a surprise as insurgents had no moral bounds.