Massive floods across Pakistan | Thousands Killed

[Amalek]

The Rains Came
- by Eric Margolis

Pakistan’s “biblical floods,” as my friend Arnaud de Borchgrave aptly calls them, are having a potent effect on the twisted geopolitics of the region.
According to the UN, the vast floodwaters have affected 20 million Pakistanis. Over 1,500 people have died, 800,000 homes have been destroyed. Pakistan’s government reports that 10% of this nation of 180 million is now destitute and 20% of Pakistan’s land is submerged by the ******, contaminated floodwaters. Two more waves of monsoon flooding are on the way.

Biblical indeed. And now come mounting reports of cholera caused by ingesting contaminated water.

Washington, increasingly concerned by Pakistan’s stability and loyalty, is rushing $1.5billion in aid. Other nations have also promised some aid. The total promised so far is around $230 million.

That’s a drop in the bucket for Pakistan, one of the poorest places anywhere and the world’ sixth most populous nation. By contrast, quake-ravaged Haiti got over $1 billion in aid. Israel gets over $3.2 billion annually from the US Congress. The US war in Afghanistan is costing at least $17 billion monthly.

Pakistan was already teetering on the edge of bankruptcy before the floods. Islamabad was kept barely solvent by steady injections of cash from Washington and from US-controlled financial institutions like the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.

The military, Pakistan’s shadow government, has been more or less rented by the US by $1.5 billion per annum payments and all sorts of secret stipends from CIA and other intelligence agencies. Without Washington’s aid, debt-laden Pakistan would probably collapse in short order.

Making matters worse, Islamabad’s major cash-earner, cotton, has been severely damaged by the floods. Important food crops have been destroyed, meaning Pakistan will require emergency food aid in the coming twelve months.

The monsoon floods ravaging Pakistan could not have come at a worse time for Washington. The US-led war in Afghanistan is at best stalemated as Taliban and its allies gain strength.

In one of the Pentagon’s worst nightmares, a rag tag force of lightly-armed Pashtun farmers and part-time fighters has managed to tie down 105,000 heavily armed, lavishly equipped US and NATO troops and has even has put the Western armies on the defensive.

There are even whispers in the bazaar that the Western powers may face defeat in Afghanistan. As a result, Russia, the last invader, is giving increasing military and logistical help to the Western powers in Afghanistan.

The US and NATO could not continue their occupation of that nation without use of Pakistan’s ports, supply depots, air bases, roads, intelligence agencies, and 140,000 Pakistani troops.

In 2001, the US threatened all-out war against Pakistan, according to its former strongman, Gen. Pervez Musharaff, unless it joined the fight against Taliban and accepted a high degree of US control. The sweetener: up to $15 billion in aid.

It was the classic Italian mafia offer: “lead or gold.”

Now, Pakistan’s cataclysmic floods have left the government in Islamabad of President Asif Ali Zardari isolated and despised by the public. The government response to the inundations has been feeble and inept. Most of the rescue operations were conducted by the military, which still remains popular.

Washington recently arm-twisted the Zardari government into violating military tradition by extending, by an unprecedented three more years, the terms of the armed forces powerful chief of staff and intelligence director, who are viewed with much favor by the US. The result is unrest in the military’s senior ranks as promotions are frozen.

President Zardari made an ill-timed trip to Britain during the floods, reminding Pakistanis that he still owns a lavish country mansion there acquired with funds Swiss prosecutors claimed were obtained by massive kickbacks when his late wife, Benazir Bhutto, was in power. She told me the mansion was bought with legitimate family funds. Zardari also owns a 16th century chateau in Normandy.

Pakistanis were furious at Zardari for swanning around Europe while half the nations was drowning. Pakistan’s parliament has stripped Zardari, whose popularity has plummeted to minus zero, of most of his important powers, handing them over to the amiable but weak prime minister, Yousaf Raza Gilani, another US ally.

Washington promised some more aid, but its primary concern was not humanitarian but political: that Islamic charities and other Muslim groups opposing the US-led war in Afghanistan were delivering effective emergency aid while efforts by the corrupt, US-supported Zardari regime were failing.

This concern, however, seems besides the point since 95% of Pakistanis already hate the United States and see it as even a bigger enemy today than India. Islamic groups, some of them militant, have provided effective humanitarian aid in many nations whose US-backed authoritarian governments do next to nothing for their people. This is the primary reason why groups branded “terrorists” by the US and its allies are so popular – such as Hamas in Palestine, Hezbullah in Lebanon, and Pakistan’s militant Islamic parties.

So another black eye for Washington. Unless Washington keeps pumping billions into Pakistan, the war in Afghanistan cannot be sustained. But how will demolished Pakistan ever be able to afford to rebuild all the roads, dams, irrigation canals, bridges, factories and houses destroyed by the floods?

Everyone remembers how the New Orleans disaster deflated the arrogant President George W. Bush. Zardari and his allies certainly seem next in line for divine retribution.

It’s just tragic that poor Pakistan has to pay the price.

Copyright Eric S. Margolis 2010

 

[Abu Zolfiqar]

Why is it named "Happy Hour" [/SIZE..

Happy Hour is a marketing term for a period of time in which a restaurant or bar offers discounts on alcoholic drinks, such as beer, wine, and cocktails.

Basic Information
Typically, it is in the late afternoon Monday through Thursday, usually taking place at some period between 4 PM and 7 PM. This promotion is intended to boost business on what may otherwise be a slow day. In most cases the "happy hour" lasts longer than a single hour.

The term Happy Hour also is commonly used to describe the gathering of work colleagues at a restaurant or bar after work hours, possibly outside the period of 4 PM and 7 PM.[



Happy hour - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

]& words r colored in pakistani flag pattern...!!! I doubt their intensions.

oh common yaar. It's a charity event for Pakistan; should it be indian flag instead

all the proceeds from the event will be given to Pakistan

 

[Solomon2]

"Marines are trying to beat the odds and save as many people as possible from devastation brought by the floods in Pakistan. They told ABC News that the flooding was the worst destruction they’ve ever seen. Women and children, the lucky ones not killed, are seen taking refuge on hills as they wait for assistance." link

Almost all Marines have been to Iraq, and many of these to Fallujah, the Iraqi city that was damaged the most by U.S. forces. And they say the flooding in Pakistan is even worse!

 

[Ahmad]

"Marines are trying to beat the odds and save as many people as possible from devastation brought by the floods in Pakistan. They told ABC News that the flooding was the worst destruction they’ve ever seen. Women and children, the lucky ones not killed, are seen taking refuge on hills as they wait for assistance." link

Almost all Marines have been to Iraq, and many of these to Fallujah, the Iraqi city that was damaged the most by U.S. forces. And they say the flooding in Pakistan is even worse!

I watch the events on BBC24, this channel is giving a very good coverage to these events. Trust me watching those people is truely heartbreaking.

 

[Solomon2]

Canadian Jews sending aid to Pakistan

Posted on 21 August 2010.

Irshad Salim

NEW YORK: A Jewish response to Pakistan flood crisis based on the Jewish principle of Tikun Olam is in the works, it has emerged.

Tikun Olam is a Hebrew phrase that means “repairing the world.”

According to Wikipedia, the expression “tikkun olam” is used to indicate that a practice should be followed not because it is required by Biblical law, but because it helps avoid social chaos.

Based on the concept of “repairing the world”, the Canadian Jewish Humanitarian and Relief Committee Ve’ahavta is providing life-saving food, clothing, medicine and other resources, through a Pakistan Flood Relief Fund, published reports said.

Pakistan has been hit by devastating floods, in which over 20 million people have lost their homes. One fifth of the country is under water.

“The suffering in Pakistan is devastating and we, the Jewish people, are therefore extending our caring and resources to help. We wish for peace between all peoples and a world of co-existence and health,” Avrum Rosensweig, President of Ve’ahavta said on Friday.

The Jewish Community previously sent aid to victims of Pakistan earthquakes in 2005 and 2008 through American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC).


Israel Offered Aid to Pakistan

Posted on 25 August 2010.

Irshad Salim

NEW YORK: Israel has offered aid to flood-ravaged Pakistan which is experiencing record-breaking floods that have uprooted millions of people.

The UN says some 6 million people are in danger of being affected by water-borne diseases, of which 3.5 million are children.

According to an Israeli website israelnationalnews.com, Israeli officials said Tuesday that they had offered assistance to Pakistan.

But the officials said they have not received an answer from Pakistan on whether or not the aid should be forwarded.

Meanwhile, the Canadian Jewish Humanitarian and Relief Committee Ve’ahavta is providing life-saving food, clothing, medicine and other resources, through a Pakistan Flood Relief Fund, it has emerged.

“The suffering in Pakistan is devastating and we, the Jewish people, are therefore extending our caring and resources to help. We wish for peace between all peoples and a world of co-existence and health,” Avrum Rosensweig, President of Ve’ahavta said on Friday.

The Jewish Community previously sent aid to victims of Pakistan earthquakes in 2005 and 2008 through American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC).

Pakistan has also accepted $5 million flood aid from neighboring India.

Israel and India are two countries with which Pakistan does not enjoy very warm relationships. In fact Pakistan has not recognized Israel until Palestinians have a state. Backdoor diplomacy between Pakistan and the two countries to normalize relations continue though.

 

[kprmuralidharan]

Hi all pakistan brothers, my heart bleeds after seeing the suffering of all people of pakistan due to flood. let god give them strength to overcome this.Me from india and wish pakistan remain stable

 

[kprmuralidharan]

if really pakistan govt wish & sincere all the aid problem can be overcome by having a joint 1 to 1meeting between india pakistan prime minister as we were children of same mother before 1947

 

[Xeric]

BBC News - Pakistani army boosted by floods reaction

Pakistani army boosted by floods reaction

Pakistan's rulers face criticism over the flood crisis, but the army - tarnished by its role in government and by military offensives - has boosted its image, as Jill McGivering reports.

Zarinabad is a small village of a few thousand people, close to Peshawar, in north-west Pakistan.

More than three weeks ago, it was swallowed up by floodwater.

Within a day, the villagers said, the water rose to a height of more than 15 metres (49ft).

Now it has started to recede - but the level is still far too high for the villagers to think about going back to their houses.

Instead they are living in tents on a narrow ridge of high ground, overlooking their waterlogged homes.

Men from the village waded back and forth through shoulder-high water, slowly salvaging their belongings, a few at a time. Plates, pots, low wooden beds, even an old sewing machine, all covered in dirty, noxious mud.
Flooding in Zarinabad, August 2010 Residents in Zarinabad have been wading through flood water to salvage their belongings

Since the floods came, they have had tents and a regular supply of clean drinking water and food, they said, provided by a German aid agency.

But they had received nothing from the government. As the men gathered, their anger was clear.

'Won't vote'

"We always used to vote for the ruling party, the Pakistan People's Party," one man said.

"But we haven't had a scrap of help from them. Next time there's an election, we won't vote for them. We won't vote at all."

There was high praise though for the international agencies and for the army.

"The army did a really good job," said another man. The crowd nodded.
Continue reading the main story
“Start Quote

They went into the water and tried to pull out each and every individual who was stranded in the water ”

End Quote Col Ahsan Mahmood Army Service Corps relief camp commander

"They set up three medical camps and they came with helicopters and rescued about 20 people from my village."

A nearby army camp, part of the Army Service Corps, is now also a place of refuge. The army school has been taken over by homeless families, evicted by the floodwater.

The cement-floor classrooms had been converted into informal dormitories for women and children.

Most of the families had been able to go home, the army officers said, but people whose houses had been destroyed simply had nowhere else to go.

The camp commander is Col Ahsan Mahmood.

Asked about the army's rescue and relief work and its impact on their public image, he admitted that the army's reputation, tarnished by recent offensives in South Waziristan, had needed boosting.

"There was maybe a sentiment for the army previously but now people have realised that the army is doing for the betterment of the country," he said.
A flood victim receives help at an army relief camp in Punjab province, Pakistan, 25 August 2010 Pakistani soldiers have been assisting flood victims in army-run camps

"The people have seen by themselves how the armed forces work for them and came to help them.

"They went into the water and tried to pull out each and every individual who was stranded in the water. We have not let even a single person die."

Nusrat, a teacher in the army school, is now living in her own classroom - another victim of the flood.

She says the army's relief work has made a big difference to people's attitudes.

"The army rescued us from flooded areas by helicopters and boats and gave us food, shelter, everything," she said.

"People's thinking about the army was so bad but today, our thinking is so changed."

Back to old ways?

Visiting newly flooded areas in Sindh Province in the south of Pakistan - and to the north-west - the general impression on the ground is that much of the public anger about the way this crisis is being handled and aid delivered is targeted at the government.
Continue reading the main story
“Start Quote

In any country, disaster management, in a disaster of this nature, always involves the army ”

End Quote Hussain Haqqani Pakistani ambassador to the US

The security forces are much more visible - distributing clean drinking water and aid.

But Hussain Haqqani, Pakistan's ambassador to the US, challenged the idea that the government's image was suffering at the expense of the army.

During a brief visit to Islamabad, he said the army was an agent of the government, not in competition with it.

"It's not the civilian government that has helicopters and boats to be able to come to the rescue," he said.

"In any country, disaster management, in a disaster of this nature, always involves the army.

"What we're witnessing essentially is some hard-line opponents of the government politicising the entire tragedy of the floods and using it to criticise the president, the prime minister and the elected leadership."

This all matters so much because of Pakistan's history and the past pattern of strong army leaders taking control from weak civilian governments.

Syed Talat Hussain, a journalist with Pakistan's Aaj Television, suggested that the army's and the government's differing reactions to the floods might affect the balance of power.

"The army generally seems to be at work. The civilian government seems to be at a loss. So the army is going to win the day.

"There will be many people who would say that, in dire need, the democratically elected leadership wasn't there for us.

"My fear is that if that were to be the argument, eventually Pakistan is going to drift back into its old ways."

The civilian government is well aware of the problems it is facing.

The flood crisis is itself a tremendous challenge - but the broader political landscape could add further pressure too.

 

[Xeric]

"But we haven't had a scrap of help from them. Next time there's an election, we won't vote for them."

Guud for them (and for the country).

"We won't vote at all."

Dangerous.

But Hussain Haqqani, Pakistan's ambassador to the US, challenged the idea that the government's image was suffering at the expense of the army.

During a brief visit to Islamabad, he said the army was an agent of the government, not in competition with it.

"It's not the civilian government that has helicopters and boats to be able to come to the rescue," he said.

"In any country, disaster management, in a disaster of this nature, always involves the army.

He does talk sense sometimes.

 

[karan.1970]

But wasnt army acting on the instructions of the civilian govt? Its not a separate state in itself, but an instrument of the state. Isnt it?

 

[Xeric]

The article tells it all. The 'doubt' that you have is merely the hole in your head which can never be filled!!

 

[Abu Zolfiqar]

Army ENJOYS (out of self-fulfillment and DUTY) helping these people. They are doing what they have been ordered to do by their superior and doing so dutifully and without ANY question

what Army (and Qaum) does NOT like is that Army is constantly having to fill in the ''gap'' where civilian govt. should be fulfilling its own duties --to lead, serve and stand for the interests of the people of Pakistan Nation.

whether its humanitarian disaster, political immaturity, establishing nation's writ in rural/tribal areas or other phenomenon --army is being compelled by hidden and sometimes unhidden force to intervene.


Zardari will talk about how militants can exploit the situation of the floods to suit their own ulterior motives.

Well?! Then do something about it!! Do something substantial that will convince the people!



making your face seen, making your voice heard; making your actions known/felt/acknowledged ---that is how you handle a situation, like the one 1/5 of the country is facing.


if the PPP government were smart, they would have also done some exploiting of their own (for a good cause this time!)

they would have used the time to build some credibility with the masses; instead they f*cked up in almost every imaginable way in the ''book''

We have no effective natural disaster management authority; we have few politicians who initially showed their faces, handed out checks, used their own VIP aircrafts to shuttle victims; donated from their own one-day or five-day worth of salary


Leaders aren't born, they are made. And they are made just like anything else, through hard work. It doesnt matter whether you are wearing mil-issue camos or a pinstripe suit.

We now have people on the ground (as per the article) having doubts about voting in the next election. This is a HUGE cause of concern.

When will the so-called leaders wake up and be cognizant to the realities here?


I don't want to wake up, grouchy on a Saturday morning and see Ayyesha Siddiqui walas shrieking about how the Army is becoming ''too powerful'' and ''too influential in public eyes'' or things like that.

 

[Xeric]

As i have said earlier, it is not the Army that is 'manipulating' the situation and earning points, instead it is the the poor and selfish role of the govt that the govt is loosing face.

We could have shown concerns if the Army had been in competition with the govt or if it had done something questionable. The govt is having hits on its rating not because of Army's efficiency but because of the blatant inefficiency to a shameful extent of the govt machinery itself!

This phenomenon is quite clear to all, less the likes of Karan who would behave as if he was born a day before and puts water in his ears instead of his mouth!

The Army cannot be in competition with its people, civilian bureaucracy or the govt as it takes its strength from these institutions. Had the Army needed votes, their success against terrorism would have fetched them many.

It is stupid to think that the military (PAF and Navy) included is trying to undermine the govt or its competency, it's the govt's inept attitude that is costing the govt its image NOT the efficient, transparent and perfect relief process of the Army.

 

[Aeon]

USAID to provide $50m assistance for flood affected people -- AAJ News
SUKKUR (26th August 2010)

The United States on Wednesday said the USAID would utilise US 50 million dollars out of the assistance through the Kerry Lugar Berman Bill, for relief and rehabilitiation of the flood affected people.

USAID Administrator Dr Rajiv Shah, who was on a day long visit to see the devastation and meet the displaced people said he was moved to see the plight of the people.

He said the United States was committed to the relief and rehabilitation of the flood affected people and would increase the “extent and scale” of its assistance.

Rajiv Shah who went around two different camps; housing 2700 and 1200 people respectively. He was briefed that the camps set up jointly with the collaboration of USAID, World Food Program and local NGOs were being provided food, water and arrangements have been made to provide adequate sanitation and medical facilities.

He also met the people and enquired about the facilities they were getting.

He was informed that the US had evacuated 6000 people stranded at different places, following the worst ever flooding in the country that destroyed 20 per cent crop area and affected 20 million.

 

[Aeon]

EU assures more help in rehabilitation work in flood-hit areas
ISLAMABAD (26th August 2010)

European Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response Ms. Kristalina Georgieva Wednesday said the European Union acted extremely quickly to help Pakistan following the unprecedented floods in Pakistan and assured that the EU would extend further help and cooperation in reconstruction of the damaged areas.

Addressing a press conference here at local hotel today Ms. Kristalina said so far the EU has pledged to provide Euro 70 million to assist the victims of the floods in Pakistan.

She said Pakistan need special attention of the international community in this difficult time especially in rehabilitation work in the rural areas to enable them for next crop otherwise, there could be shortage of food grain in the country.

Ms. Kristalina, who met with prime minister, foreign minister and General Nadeem Chairman National Disaster Management Authority besides many other NGO representatives, said if the world community would not extend its help to Pakistan today, next year, the crisis could be more dangerous.

She said cases of water borne diseases in the flood affected areas are increasing which need immediate attention of the international community.

Replying to a question, she said, the EU members are ready to increase their assistance following the assessment needs in the flood affected areas when the water receded.

Answering a question about providing more access to Pakistani goods to European markets, she said, there has already sufficient import from Pakistan that include 20 per cent duty free and 60 per cent with reduction of tariff.

She said, however, negotiations have been going on to further increase the opportunities for the Pakistani goods to the European market.

Ms. Kristalina said, although the cause of Pakistan’s recent devastated floods is not known but it could be due to climate change in the region. She said the EU is actively involved with international community to resolve this issue.

Answering a question to help Pakistan to build dams, she said, it is under water resource management for this negotiations are going on between Pakistan and the EU members.

She said the proposal for the construction of new dams in Pakistan could be discussed in the next meeting of Friends of Pakistan to be held in October.

She said 18 member states of EU are actively participating in providing assistance to Pakistan through different United Nation organisations and NGOs.