Clare Short, the international development secretary, last night launched a scathing attack on aid agency "spin doctors" who claim that the bombing in Afghanistan is preventing aid reaching refugees.

Speaking on BBC radio's The World Tonight, Short, who has been in Pakistan for two days this week, claimed: "I met local representatives of all these agencies - as opposed to their spin doctors - in private ... and most of the agencies said, yes, the distribution networks are holding up."

Short also told today's Guardian that any pause in the bombing would play straight into the hands of the Taliban and Osama bin Laden. "It is not a real alternative, it is emotional. It's emotion among people in London, in Birmingham, in Islamabad," she said.

Aid agencies reacted with dismay to her claims.

A spokeswoman for Oxfam International said Short's comments were a "cheap shot" while a spokesman for Christian Aid insisted: "It is not about spinning, it is about being realistic. We need to get 70,000 tonnes to them in the next few weeks and we are not able to do that."