U.S. Wants to Bar Militant Groups From Quake Work in Pakistan

Relief group ties muddy quake aid
Some have extremist connections, U.S. says, but Pakistan says they’re vital
BY JAMES RUPERT
STAFF CORRESPONDENT

December 28, 2005


MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan -- The United States is pressing Pakistan to bar militant Islamic groups that Washington views as terrorists from doing relief work in the country's earthquake-shattered Kashmir region. President Pervez Musharraf has said the groups play an essential humanitarian role and will be monitored, but not shut down.

In Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-ruled Kashmir, U.S. Army Humvees and SUVs of American relief officials share rubble-lined streets with truck convoys of militant groups that the Bush administration considers enemies.

This month, U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker told Pakistani journalists that Pakistan should prevent such groups from doing relief work, which gives them a chance to promote militant ideas. The White House repeated the message during Vice President Dick Cheney's Dec. 20 visit to Musharraf, Pakistani press reports said.

But if Pakistan shuts down the relief groups fingered by Washington, it will risk a popular backlash in the quake zone, said Kashmir residents and intellectuals here. Instead of forcing out religious organizations, they said, Pakistan's government and foreign donors should counter them by taking a clearer lead in relief and development work.

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