US Earthquake Aid to Pakistan

"US Helps Pakistan Earthquake Survivors," by Matti Huuhtahen - AP (Muzaffarabad, Pakistan), 29 Oct 2005

The United States has sent military helicopters, an Army field hospital and a construction battalion to earthquake-stricken Pakistan a gesture that has irked Islamic hard-liners but may help improve Washington's battered image in the Muslim world after the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

"When they do something against Muslims, we condemn them. Now as they are helping us, we should appreciate them," said Yar Mohammed, 48, a farmer in Muzaffarabad, the devastated capital of Pakistan's portion of the divided Himalayan region of Kashmir.

"We are facing hard times, and they are helping us."

...[S]ome Islamic hard-liners have bristled at the presence of U.S. troops.

"There is no need for American forces here. I think our intelligence agencies should monitor the activities of Americans in sensitive areas like Kashmir," said Ameer ul-Azeem, spokesman for the Islamic opposition coalition, Mutahida Majlis-e-Amal, which governs a province hit severely by the quake.

Pakistan and India have fought two wars over Kashmir, split into heavily militarized control zones with restricted access. The rugged mountainous area is also a regarded as a hotbed for Islamic militants, who have fought for 16 years against Indian security forces across the border.

Analysts say most Pakistanis welcome America's help particularly its helicopters, invaluable for reaching isolated mountain communities facing the onset of the harsh Himalayan winter.