Pakistan PM cancels U.S. visit due to floods

REUTERS
Pakistani Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani has cancelled a visit to the United States to attend the U.N. General Assembly session to direct relief efforts as floods devastate southern Pakistan, his office said on Friday.

President Asif Ali Zardari was widely criticised for trips to Britain and France last year when Pakistan was battling floods that killed about 2,000 people and made 11 million homeless and the government again stands accused of moving too slowly.

"The prime minister has cancelled his visit because of the floods and now the foreign minister will represent Pakistan on the visit," an official in Gilani's office told Reuters.

"The prime minister will visit flood-affected areas from tomorrow and supervise relief efforts."

The latest floods, triggered by monsoon rains, have killed more than 230 people, destroyed or damaged 1.2 million houses and flooded 4.5 million acres (1.8 million hectares) since late last month, officials and Western aid groups say.

More than 300,000 people have been moved to shelters. Some 800,000 families hit by last year's floods are still homeless.

Aid groups have warned of a growing risk of fatal diseases.

Last year, the military took charge of rescue and relief efforts, along with aid groups. The army is active again in the latest disaster. But some Pakistanis are growing impatient with the army as well. Juman and his extended family fled when water as high as 12 feet (3.6 metres) raged through their village. Home has been a thatched hut on a roadside for several weeks in another village called Mohammad Yusuf.

"We go to the army and we have been asking for food, but they beat us with sticks and told us to leave," said Juman, who added he was turned away because the army camp was already overwhelmed. "They scared us away."

The military, which has ruled Pakistan for more than half of its history, is seen as the only institution that can handle crises in the nuclear-armed South Asian nation.

Pakistan's cash-strapped government already faces many challenges, from a stubborn Taliban insurgency to growing frustrations over power cuts.

Islamabad's ties with Washington have been heavily strained since a unilateral U.S. raid killed Osama bin Laden in a Pakistani garrison town in May.

There were signs that ties were under repair when the allies recently spoke of counter-terrorism cooperation. But fresh tension has emerged.

The U.S. warning on militants based in Pakistan, blamed by Washington for this week's attack on the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, works against counter-terrorism cooperation between the two allies, the Pakistan Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.

It was referring to comments by U.S. Defence Secretary Leon Panetta that Washington would do whatever it takes to defend American forces in Afghanistan from Pakistan-based militants.

Gilani may have wanted to meet senior American officials on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly to try to patch up ties with the United States, the source of billions of dollars in aid.

Pakistani Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar is expected to meet U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the United States on September 18. She will be addressing the General Assembly in Gilani's place.