August 24, 2010
PAKISTAN (ANS) -- Fears that Islamist groups are winning hearts and minds through relief efforts among Pakistan's flood victims are growing within the Christian community.
According to Barnabas Fund, extremists with terrorist links have stepped in to fill the aid gap as international support has been slow, while the Pakistani government has been criticized for its ineffective response to the crisis - which has now affected as many as 20 million people.
The United Nations (UN) said on Wednesday, August 18, 2010, that after intense lobbying it had secured nearly half of the $460m required for initial relief work, but the number of people in need of emergency assistance has risen to eight million.
Jean-Maurice Ripert, the UN aid envoy for Pakistan, told the French newspaper Le Monde last week that militants could take advantage of the situation to "score points", adding: "The people's misery can always be exploited by those who have political or militant aims."
A Barnabas Fund partner, who is assisting with our relief efforts among thousands of Christian families in Pakistan, shared his concern that Islamists will be able to seize political power because of their effective response to the flooding crisis. If this happened, he said, it would make the situation of Christians in Pakistan far worse.
He said: "The Islamists are helping people in areas where even the government has failed to reach. In the time of need, the government's slow response has given them the opportunity to win the hearts of the affected people.
"People of Pakistan are already tired of Pakistani government... Further, the month of Ramadan has also given the Islamists opportunity to preach their version of Islam and attract people. They are gaining a foothold in the area...
"Once the Islamists get in power Christians will be targeted as they are also associated with Western countries due to same faith."
Radicals respond
A Barnabas Fund spokesperson said, "Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD), reportedly the charity arm of the banned Islamist militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), said it has 2,000 members working for flood relief across the worst hit areas. LeT was behind a bloody attack on Mumbai, India, in 2008 after which the group was blacklisted by the UN for links to terrorism.
"Pakistani Taliban militants have urged the country's US-backed government, which they have been fighting against, to reject Western aid for flood victims. A spokesman for Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) last week pledged $20 million and relief distribution if the government promised none of its members would be arrested.
Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik has moved to reassure international donors that the Taliban would not be allowed to take advantage of the crisis to bolster its support.
Dr Patrick Sookhdeo, International Director of Barnabas Fund, said: "Pakistani Christians have been targeted by Islamist groups on a number of occasions in recent years and it is a matter of urgent concern that Islamists are now capitalizing on the flooding crisis to harness support for their militant agenda.
"We must pray fervently that the Pakistani people are protected from the insidious influence of Islamic radicals and receive the help they need from genuine sources.
"I am so grateful to many Christians around the world who have already donated through Barnabas Fund to help their brothers and sisters in Pakistan at this time. Please do remember our fellow-Christians as you pray about the situation and continue to give as the Lord enables you, for the need is vast and urgent."
For more information, go to www.barnabasfund.org
Copyright 2010 ASSIST News Service. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
