Taliban condemns foreign aid, promises to match it
The United Nations has launched an appeal to help victims of the relentless flooding in Pakistan. The monsoon floods have affected more than 14 million people across the country, and the UN’s humanitarian agency has asked for $459 million for the recovery. More than 1,600 people have died and nearly 300,000 have been left homeless. Food prices have also been driven up as some 1.4 million acres of crops were destroyed in the floods that hit Pakistan’s breadbasket, Punjab. Meanwhile, the Taliban in Pakistan has denounced all foreign aid for flood victims. They have said they will match the latest U.S. pledge of $20 million.