The latest set of crises to hit Pakistan are the clashes at the Lal Masjid (Red Mosque) in Islamabad, where fundamentalist students continue to push for the imposition of Sharia law, and the hundreds of thousands of people displaced by flooding and storms.

Despite some arguments that tackling root causes and foreign policy challenges will not ease tensions throughout the NEASFram region, we believe that there is a need for the United States and the U.K. in particular to assist Pakistanis as they respond to the recent natural disasters; both because it is the right thing to do and because it shows a more supportive side of their foreign policy.