The US pointman on Pakistan called on China Thursday to join the global effort to help Pakistan cope with devastating floods, saying billions of dollars were needed for the country's reconstruction. "I think the Chinese should step up to the plate," Richard Holbrooke, the US special envoy for Pakistan and Afghanistan, told reporters at an Asia Society event also attended by Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi.
Holbrooke noted that Washington was the first and largest contributor to the global effort but said China, as a close ally of Islamabad, should play its part. The US envoy said "many billions" of dollars would be required to help Pakistan recover from the disaster, which has left nearly 1500 people dead, 20 million people affected and a fifth of the country under water with the risk of cholera, typhoid and hepatitis growing.
The UN General Assembly was holding a special meeting Thursday, attended by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, to discuss how to scale up international assistance to Islamabad. Clinton told a Pakistani television station Thursday that Washington was increasing its aid to Pakistan by 60 million dollars, to a total of 150 million.