Pakistan has threatened to arrest charities linked to Islamist militants amid fears their role in delivering aid to flood victims could undermine the fight against extremists.
By Rob Crilly, Islamabad
Islamist charities, some with alleged links to terrorists who carried out the 2008 Mumbai attacks, have moved swiftly to fill a void left by a government overwhelmed by a disaster that has left eight million people in desperate need of help.
The floods began three weeks ago leaving about 1,600 people dead and millions homeless. Health officials believe a second wave of death may now follow, as infectious diseases spread rapidly through dirty water.
In many places, Islamist charities are providing front line food and health services raising fears that organisations linked to terrorist groups were using the floods to raise their profile and gain support.
"The banned organisations are not allowed to visit flood-hit areas," Interior Minister Rehman Malik said. "We will arrest members of banned organisations collecting funds and will try them under the Anti-Terrorism Act."
Meanwhile, Pakistan has accepted $5 million (£3.2 million) in aid for flood victims from India, a rare expression of goodwill between the feuding neighbours.
It would not be the first time the government has announced restrictions against charities tied to militant groups. Critics say any banned organisations often re-emerge under new names, with authorities unable or unwilling to stop their operations.
The banned charity Jamaat-ud-Dawa has been openly distributing food and medicine to flood victims. The United Nations believes it to be a front for militants of Lashkar-e-Taiba, which trained 10 gunmen for their assault on Mumbai. Some 166 people died in a wave of attacks.
During the 2005 Kashmir earthquake its men were first on the scene, beating government rescuers and aid agencies to distribute £5 million.
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