Angelina Jolie, the actress, has donated $100,000 (£64,000) towards flood relief efforts in Pakistan, almost twice the amount pledged by the country’s president, Asif Ali Zardari.
The comparison is another embarrassment for Mr Zardari, who travelled to Europe even as the full scale of the flooding became apparent.
His handling of the floods has been roundly condemned, and now his donation of five million rupees, or $58,000 (£37,000), has been highlighted.
Farhatullah Babar, Mr Zardari’s spokesman, said the comparison was unfair.
“We appreciate what Angelina Jolie has done, but it is not some sort of race,” he said.
Mr Zardari is known as one of the country’s richest businessmen having amassed a fortune while his wife Benazir Bhutto was prime minister during the 1990s, earning the nickname Mr Ten Per Cent for his alleged taste in kickbacks.
Pakistan’s anti-corruption body claims he has amassed a property empire worth almost £1 billion, with a chateau in France, homes in Britain, Spain and Florida, and bank accounts in Switzerland.
Jolie, who is a Unicef goodwill ambassador, said she was concerned about the sluggish response to appeals for cash.
She added that she understood “it is getting hard for people – they see Haiti, they see these other events … and they get exhausted by the time another big one rolls around”.
She has also hinted that she may visit the devastated country as media coverage fades.
The Pakistani government has confirmed 1,600 people have been killed and more than 2,300 wounded. The catastrophe has already affected more than 17 million people and left eight million dependent on aid. Officials warn millions more are at risk from disease and food shortage.
Sir Anthony Bamford, the JCB chairman, donated two backhoe loader diggers worth a total of £160,000 to help in the reconstruction programme.
“Britain has been leading the way with the level of its donations to Pakistan and as a British manufacturer I am keen for us to help in any way possible and hope that JCB’s donation of machines can assist in some small way,” he said. – Telegraph
