JEDDAH, 23 January — The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) has approved a $50 million financial aid package to help the reconstruction of war-shattered Afghanistan, the bank said. "The IDB stands ready to allocate additional amounts from its normal soft loans operations to support this noble cause," the bank said in a statement yesterday. IDB President Ahmed Mohammed Ali said "reconstruction of Afghanistan should be carried out in a manner that respects fully the beliefs, culture, traditions and values of the Afghan people".