There has been a big difference in the world community’s aid to the tsunami victims and what it offered Pakistan after it was hit by a devastating earthquake in October. Even the UN has been paralyzed by shortage of funds. On the ground the UN has about 100 people in Muzaffarabad coordinating relief for more than three million people made homeless by the huge quake.

However, the United States stands out as a willing supporter of Pakistan in this hour of need. In fact never before in the history of Pakistan-US relations has any US administration come forward with this degree of willingness to help a troubled Pakistan. The past has been a tale of constant woes with people blaming Washington for many of Pakistan’s political catastrophes. Now the US is leading others in helping Pakistan. There are concrete indicators to illustrate this:

• US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was among the first foreign dignitaries to visit Pakistan immediately after the earthquake.

• Bush and his team have been lobbying with governments, international agencies and the corporate sector to provide Pakistan the urgently needed resources. “We will be talking to the United Nations and others to urge all of us to do more,” Bush assured Musharraf in a recent telephone conversation.

• A presidential delegation led by US Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy Karen Hughes with Assistant Secretary for South Asian Affairs Christina Rocca and Deputy Assistant Secretary Mark Ward traveled to the earthquake-hit areas. Representatives from the corporate sector including Pfizer, Xerox and UPS were in the delegation.

• Bush announced, with participation of the corporate sector, the setting up of the South Asia Earthquake Relief Fund (SAERF). Corporate presence includes the Citigroup and the General Electric. The fund has been created to fill in the massive resource gaps. With 90,000 killed and three million rendered homeless, there is fear of 500,000 more dying if support doesn’t come urgently.

• Washington has been the lead provider of helicopters that are the lifeline for the hundreds of thousands of people stranded in mountains and the Valley.

• Unprecedented bipartisan support for Pakistan has emerged in the Congress. A bipartisan resolution seeking $1 billion for the earthquake victims has been moved. The resolution was jointly signed by two key members of the Congressional Pakistan Caucus, Dan Burton and Sheila Jackson Lee. The chairman of the House Appropriations Committee categorically stated, “Pakistan is a staunch supporter of the United States in the ongoing war on terrorism. We must help them cope with this disaster.”

• The US media extensively reported on the earthquake tragedy. Of all the foreign channels, CNN International’s coverage was the most impressive.

• Almost 1,000 US military personnel are now taking part in relief operations. According to Musharraf, Chinook helicopters have become a household name, and everyone knows who provided them.

• Of the private sector efforts, Alexander Saunders’ stand out for their effectiveness and continuity.

• Similarly fund-raising efforts of the Kashmir Earthquake Relief (KER), an NGO, are getting a boost from business concerns, artists and celebrities like The Roots, Mos Def, Hieroglyphics, Goapele etc.

Apart from empathy and compassion there are strategic reasons for Washington being this forthcoming to support Pakistan. The Western press says, “the US military has played a key role in the disaster operation, a move analysts say is in part aimed at overcoming resentment to its war on Islamist militancy.”

Musharraf also thinks the increased US aid would help in the fight against terrorism. In an NBC program he said: “The people would understand that joining the coalition, fighting against terrorism, joining, supporting the US against terrorism were all correct decisions.” Going by the results of the humanitarian assistance to tsunami-hit Indonesia, Washington knows that such help, apart from saving lives, wins them some friends too.

In Pakistan too Washington desperately needs friends. At the public level Washington’s “war on terror” has further complicated an already estranged bilateral relationship. The earthquake has provided Washington an opportunity to take some corrective action. Washington’s deployment of such “soft power” should be welcomed. It’s a far cry from the gun-totting and often the criminally callous Americans in Afghanistan and Iraq. But this alone will not solve America’s problems in the Muslim world. A majority of Pakistanis want the US to “play by principles” in its policy on terrorism, on Iraq and on Palestine.