【英语国际】美国：中国应加大对巴基斯坦抗洪援助

The U.S. has increased its aid commitment to flood-ravaged Pakistan to $150 million from $90 million, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday, as Richard Holbrooke, the U.S. special envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan, called on China to do more.

'I think the Chinese should step up to the plate,' Mr. Holbrooke told a small group of reporters after an event at the Asia Society in New York designed to draw attention to the devastating floods. 'They always say that Pakistan is their closest ally, and vice versa.'

The U.S. suffers from 'famously low popularity' in Pakistan, though its reputation has improved over the past 18 months, Mr. Holbrooke said. 'And although other countries' popularity is greater, including China's, the U.S. is first and the most' in aid to Pakistan, he said.

The Chinese mission to the United Nations didn't immediately respond to calls seeking comment.

China has begun a $7.4 million delivery of humanitarian aid to Pakistan -- surpassing its initial commitment of $1.5 million.

'This is the worst natural disaster in Pakistan's history,' Mrs. Clinton said at the General Assembly. 'And the rain continues to fall.'

As many as 20 million Pakistanis have been affected by the flooding, according to the U.N. More than 1,500 people have been killed and 800,000 homes have been destroyed by the flooding.

Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi told the General Assembly that 10% of Pakistanis have been 'rendered destitute' as '20% of our land is submerged in water.' He said crops valued at $1.2 billion have been destroyed and that 17 million acres of farmland are under water.

'The situation is expected to get worse as the second and third waves of floods inundate more lands and uproot more people,' Mr. Qureshi said.

Last week, the U.N. appealed for $460 million in aid for Pakistan. About half that, around $228 million, has been raised, the U.N. said. The European Union has donated $180 million.

Washington has shifted its focus toward the humanitarian disaster over military operations against Taliban and al Qaeda militants in northwest Pakistan -- the area most affected by the flood.

'We don't have an assessment,' of the military situation, Mr. Holbrooke said. 'We can't even get in there. The water has affected everyone. It is an equal-opportunity disaster, and military operations have effectively faded away.' He said the U.S. will carry out a strategic and political assessment of the situation in northwest Pakistan once the waters recede.

Mr. Qureshi said it was too early to tell whether the militants had been weakened when the disaster cut off supply lines to the region.

He also warned the General Assembly of the risk of rioting. 'The food security of the sixth most populated nation in the world is at risk,' he said.

美国国务卿希拉里•克林顿(Hillary Clinton)周四在联合国大会上说，美国已经把它对巴基斯坦的洪灾援助承诺从9,000万美元提高到1.5亿美元。同时，美国的巴基斯坦、阿富汗问题特使霍尔布鲁克(Richard Holbrooke)呼吁中国加大对巴援助。

Associated Press周四，洪水过后大量无家可归的难民聚集在临时营地外。纽约亚洲协会(Asia Society)当天举办了一场活动，希望引起人们对巴基斯坦毁灭性洪灾的关注。霍尔布鲁克在活动结束后对一小批记者说，我认为中国人应当承担起责任；他们一直说巴基斯坦是中国最亲密的盟友，中国也是巴基斯坦最亲密的盟友。

霍尔布鲁克说，美国在巴基斯坦的受欢迎程度“低得出了名”，虽然在过去一年半的时间里美国的声誉有所改善。他说，尽管包括中国在内的其他国家在巴基斯坦的受欢迎程度更高，但美国对巴基斯坦的援助却是最早、最多的。

中国驻联合国代表团暂时没有回复请求置评的电话。

中国已经开始向巴基斯坦提供740万美元的人道主义援助，超过初期150万美元的承诺。

希拉里•克林顿在联合国大会上说，这是巴基斯坦历史上最严重的自然灾害，而且雨还在下。

据联合国统计，可能有多达2,000万巴基斯坦人受到了洪灾的影响，逾1,500人遇难，80万所房屋在洪灾中被毁。

巴基斯坦的外交部长库雷希(Mahmood Qureshi)在联合国大会上说，巴基斯坦10%的人口因为洪灾而变得一贫如洗，20%的国土被水浸泡。他说，价值12亿美元的农作物已经被毁，1,700万英亩的农地被水淹没。

库雷希说，随着第二波、第三波洪水淹没更多土地，迫使更多人离乡背井，预计情况还会变得更加严重。

联合国上周呼吁各国为巴基斯坦提供4.6亿美元的援助。联合国说，已经筹集援助2.28亿美元左右，大约完成了目标的一半。欧盟已捐助1.8亿美元。

Getty Images美国国务卿希拉里在联合国宣布美国将扩大对巴基斯坦的援助。华盛顿在巴基斯坦的关注重点，已经不是打击巴基斯坦西北地区塔利班、基地组织武装力量的军事行动，而是洪灾造成的人道主义灾难。巴基斯坦西北地区是受这次洪灾影响最重的地区。

霍尔布鲁克说，我们对当地军情没有评估，我们根本去不了那里，洪灾对所有人都有影响，这是一种机会均等的灾难，军事行动事实上已经陷于停顿。他说，一伺洪水消退，美国将对巴基斯坦西北局势进行一次战略与政治评估。

库雷希说，现在还无法判断洪灾切断西北地区补给线之后，当地的武装力量有没有遭到削弱。

他还提醒联合国大会，巴基斯坦有发生民乱的危险。他说，在这个人口数量位居世界第六的国家，食品安全面临着威胁。