Describing as a "tremendous gesture" India's aid offer for Pakistani flood victims, the US has said it was "gratified" by Islamabad's decision to accept USD 5 million in assistance extended by its neighbour.
"It was a tremendous gesture by India offering assistance to Pakistan and we are gratified that Pakistan has decided to accept that offer," State Department spokesman, P. J. Crowley, told reporters Friday evening.
Crowley was responding to questions about the decision of Pakistan to accept the Indian offer of USD 5 million in aid for flood relief work in Pakistan, where an estimated 20 million people have been badly hit by the devastating floods that have inundated one-fifth of the country.
Earlier this week, the United States had urged Pakistan to accept the Indian aid offer, arguing that there was no scope for politics in the case of natural disaster.
The US has also expressed satisfaction with the outcome of the special session of the UN General Assembly on Pakistan held at its headquarters in New York and the response of the international community, even though Crowley said there is more to do be done given the magnitude of the devastation caused by the floods.
"We hope that the international community would step up (its efforts). This is not a one time shot deal. Pakistan has profound growing needs. So this is going to require sustained effort by the international community for some time," Crowley said.
The texting campaign in the US so far has generated more than USD 90,000, he said. The official US aid to Pakistan has been USD 150 million till now.
The Obama Administration is also reviewing the priorities under the Kerry-Lugar-Berman bill that allocates USD 7.5 billion to Pakistan in five
years.