Red Cross halts most Pakistan aid after beheading of staff doctor

Hospital staff and rescue workers carry the casket of Khalil Rasjed Dale, a British doctor working with the International Committee of the Red Cross, to an ambulance at a hospital in Quetta April 30, 2012. Credit: Reuters/Naseer Ahmed

GENEVA (Reuters) - The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said on Tuesday it was halting most of its aid programs in Pakistan due to deteriorating security and the beheading of a British staff doctor in April blamed on Taliban insurgents.

The independent agency, which had already suspended operations in three of Pakistan's four provinces in May pending a security assessment, said it would carry on working in the country "but on a reduced scale".

"All relief and protection activities are being stopped. All projects of rehabilitation, economic projects, have been terminated," said Jacques de Maio, head of ICRC operations in South Asia, on one of the organization's blog.

"We have closed a number of offices. We are also terminating all visits to detainees in Pakistan," he added.

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