Threatened USAID chief makes hasty exit from Pakistan

WASHINGTON - USAID chief Rajiv Shah who was in Pakistan to oversee flood relief had to make a hasty exit from the country following a terrorist threat, a media report said Saturday.

Shah was asked to immediately leave a relief camp in Pakistan’s Sukkur city Wednesday by his security staff as he faced an “imminent threat” from militants, Dawn reported on its website.

“Within a few minutes of being there, our diplomatic security informed me that there were some suspicious individuals in the area and we needed to leave. So we tried to make as graceful and appropriate an exit as possible,” Shah told reporters after returning to Washington.

Shah, who is administrator of the US Agency for International Development (USAID), said he had been speaking to flood victims who told him they had lost all their belongings, including shoes and their children were “malnourished and ill”.

“I really did want to listen to people standing in line and learn about how we, together with our partners, can mount the most effective response on their behalf,” Shah said.

Shah believed the militants went to the camp because he was there. He said it was “deeply saddening that others would choose to use these environments to propagate themselves”.

But he insisted the US was committed to a “strong and effective response in cooperation with the people of Pakistan”, including helping with reconstruction once floodwaters recede.

Shortly after Shah’s visit, a group linked to Lashkar-e-Taiba terror group said in a statement that it was in charge of the camp and hence Shah was endorsing its activities.

Shah, however, denied the claim and said it is run by UN World Food Programme.

US officials have warned of threats by extremists against foreign workers helping in flood relief. Some 17 million Pakistanis are affected in the floods.

The US has mobilised over $200 million for flood relief, hoping its helping hand will dent anti-US sentiments in the country.