Leading personalities from India and Pakistan Sunday demanded that the two governments must rise above "doubts and suspicions" to cooperate with each other in providing help to the flood-affected people in Pakistan.
"At this time of crisis, the governments of the two countries must cooperate with each other in bringing help to the afflicted. They must rise
above the doubts and suspicions that have kept us apart for so long," the Balusa Group, which works for peace between India and Pakistan, said in a
statement.
The statement issued by former Indian foreign secretary Salman Haider and Pakistan's former national security advisor Mahmud Ali Durrani, maintained that this emergency could "open a new window of opportunity for a better relationship" between the two countries.
Haider is the India convenor of Balusa Group while Durrani is the Pakistan convenor.
"This is the time for Pakistan's immediate neighbours to rise to the challenge, especially India, which is familiar with the destruction that an errant monsoon can cause. We, therefore, applaud the Indian offer of USD 5 million to the UN-led relief efforts, which has been graciously accepted by Pakistan," the Balusa Group said.
The Group also expressed the hope that this will be regarded as a beginning and would be followed by "substantial enhancement of this amount" and supply of medicines and other relief material from across the border.
It stated that the UN has taken the lead in activating a global response and has appealed to governments, humanitarian organisations and
individuals to respond to the crisis caused by the floods in Pakistan.
"The devastating floods in Pakistan demand a massive and urgent response from the international community. Pakistan faces a crushing
humanitarian emergency of unprecedented dimensions," the Group said.
Efforts by the Pakistan government and private agencies would have to be supplemented by worldwide action, it said.
"Concerted international effort is imperative to bring aid and succour to the tens of millions who face terrible challenges of survival and rebuilding," the Group said.