In southern Pakistan, floods continue to cause havoc with water surging from the province of Sindh to neighbouring Balochistan.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who visited Pakistan, said the floods were the worst disaster he had seen. However, the UN has so far only raised a fraction of the aid it has asked for.

The World Health Organization was also preparing to assist tens of thousands of people in case of cholera, although the government has not notified the UN of any confirmed cases, he added. Mr Maurizio estimated the number at risk from such diseases was six million.

Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said he feared the growing desperation of flood victims could play into the hands of extremists. But he said troops fighting insurgents in the north had not been redeployed to help the relief effort.

Speaking later at a press conference, Mr Qureshi said Nato officials were in talks with Islamabad on setting up an "air bridge" to fly in relief to cut-off areas. He said Japan had also sent a team to Islamabad with a view to sending helicopters to help in the relief effort.

The World Bank said Monday that it has agreed to provide a US$900 million loan to Pakistan to help the country recover from the severe flood. "The government of Pakistan has requested around US$900 million in financial support from the World Bank, which we have committed to provide," the bank said in a statement.

The Pakistani government says up to 20 million people have now been affected by the monsoon floods.