Pakistan floods 'hit 12m people'

The worst floods in Pakistan's history have now affected 12 million people, says the government relief agency.

General Nadeem Ahmed, of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), said that figure only covered Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab provinces.

Figures for Sindh province were not yet available, he added.

Meanwhile, it has emerged that a charity connected to a group allegedly linked to al-Qaeda has been providing aid in flood-hit areas.

Gen Ahmed said that 650,000 houses had been destroyed, and that the highway authority had estimated it would cost about 5bn Pakistani rupees ($59m; £38m) to rebuild roads destroyed by the flood waters.

The bill for fixing damage to power infrastructure and dams would come to another 2.5bn rupees, he added.

"In my opinion, when assessments are complete, this will be the biggest disaster in the history of Pakistan," he told a news conference in Islamabad on Friday.

There is mounting anger at the absence of President Asif Ali Zardari, who left the country for a state visit to Britain to meet the UK Prime Minister David Cameron.

With flood victims bitterly accusing the authorities of failing to come to their aid, the disaster has piled yet more pressure on an administration struggling to contain Taliban violence and an economic crisis.

Flooding has submerged whole villages in the past week, killing at least 1,600 people, according to the United Nations.

And the worst floods to hit the region in 80 years could get worse, as it is only midway through monsoon season.

Flooding has also hit Indian-administered Kashmir, where more than 100 people have died in the Ladakh region.