The offer came as aid agencies appealed to the international community to rush through $460 million in help for Pakistan, warning of a potential "second wave" of deaths due to disease from the flooding.

"India has offered the assistance for provision of relief material from India for the victims of the massive floods," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

India's External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna had a telephone conversation with his Pakistani counterpart, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, and "conveyed deepest sympathies and condolence to the people of Pakistan," the statement said.

The Indian offer of assistance comes during a period of strained relations between the nuclear-armed rivals which have fought three wars, two over the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir.

Pakistan's government says 14 million people face direct or indirect harm from the floods, while the United Nations has warned that children are among the most vulnerable.

Relief aid is lagging far behind the needs of the millions of victims, the United Nations says.

Disease outbreaks pose new risks to victims of Pakistan's worst floods in decades, aid agencies said on Friday, potentially hindering already complicated relief efforts.

The floods, triggered by torrential monsoon downpours, have engulfed Pakistan's Indus River basin, killing more than 1,600 people, forcing two million from their homes and disrupting the lives of about 14 million people, or eight percent of the population.

Although waters have receded in some areas, fresh downpours could bring more destruction, and a health crisis would tax aid agencies already facing huge logistical challenges.

The United Nations is increasingly worried about water-borne diseases. There have been 36,000 suspected cases of potentially fatal acute watery diarrhea reported so far.

"This is a growing concern. Therefore we are responding with all kinds of preventative as well as curative medication... for outbreaks," said Maurizio Giuliano, the UN humanitarian operation spokesman said.

Floods have roared down from the northwest to the Punjab agricultural heartland to southern Sindh province.

The United Nations appealed for $459 million in emergency aid and warned of a wave of deaths if help didn't arrive soon.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is expected to visit Pakistan over the weekend to discuss the flood crisis with Pakistani leaders, said Foreign Ministry spokesman Abdul Basit.

Increasing desperation could lead to social unrest and pressure on a government already on the defensive after being criticized for its perceived lackluster response, unlike the powerful military which swung into action.

"Children are dying now as we speak because of lack of access to clean drinking water," said Pascal Cuttat, International Committee of the Red Cross Head of Delegation in Islamabad.

Villages have been swallowed up. Bridges have collapsed. Some people only have a patch of land to stand on. All they see is water all around. It will get worse if the rains return.

Scattered showers are expected in the north on Friday and the south will likely be dry, said the official weather department.

The International Monetary Fund has warned of major economic harm and the Finance Ministry said the country would miss this year's 4.5 percent gross domestic product growth target though it was not clear by how much.