After initial hesitation, Pakistan finally decided to accept India’s $5 million aid for flood victims, and officials said Friday India’s offer “was a positive gesture, and good for relations (between) the two countries”.
Foreign office spokesman Abdul Basit said just a day earlier that Pakistan had declined the aid though “we appreciate India’s gesture”.
Pakistan’s turnaround came after the US state department said it “expected” Pakistan to accept India’s offer, saying that “politics should play no part” in the matter. Within Pakistan, pressure from hardliners — who tried to blame the calamity on India, the US and Afghanistan — earlier led the government to delay a decision.