ISLAMABAD, Oct 9: Three successive years of devastating floods threatening the lives of millions and displacement of thousands of people due to military operations and militancy have provided an opportunity to Pakistan’s radical Islamist groups to make recruitments besides increasing the potential for conflict, says a report of an international organisation.

“The military’s suspicions of and animosity towards foreign actors undermine efforts to improve the humanitarian community’s coordination with government agencies, and allegations that humanitarian aid is a cover for foreign intelligence activity threatens staff and beneficiaries’ security,” said a report titled “Pakistan: No End to Humanitarian Crises” and released on Tuesday by Brussels-based International Crisis Group (ICG).

The report says that “radical Islamist lobbies, including militant groups opposed to donor involvement, exploit the gaps in assistance and sporadic, selective, and heavy-handed military operations that have, in 2012 alone, displaced hundreds of thousands, particularly in Fata’s Khyber Agency”.

The report warns that the recurrent natural and conflict-driven humanitarian crises, which have put the lives and livelihoods of so many at risk and aggravated economic hardships, need urgent and coordinated action.

“By hindering international humanitarian actors’ access to populations in need, the civil-military bureaucracies are undermining efforts to help citizens cope in the aftermath of humanitarian disasters,” it says.