The floods in Pakistan have raised a variety of issues ranging from the aid to t

he rescue efforts and the politics being played over the biggest calamity Pakist
an is facing.
It has something to do with the Jihadi participation in the Earthquake relief of
2005. The donors watched in despair as their aid was used by terror groups to w
in more sympathisers. It is largely this track record which has inhibited larger
sums flowing in this time around. While Ban Ki Moon has termed this as the “slow
motion tsunami“, there is no spontaneity in the inflow of aid.
Holbrookes claims that it would take billions to stabilise the situation but he
too is weary of the al Qaeda moles siphoning the largess. Compared to Haiti and
its devastating earthquake earlier this year, the global community is being much
tighter with its wallet. Only about half the 450 million dollars needed by the
United Nations for immediate relief and recovery has been committed, but not nec
essarily yet delivered. And the billions of dollars in damages to the vital agri
cultural sector and other industries means economic woes are only beginning. Fee
ding the hungry will be a major challenge.
As Pakistan continues to battle floods and struggles for relief funds from fore
ign donors, it is also in a fix over winning hearts and minds of its citizens. N
ever a place of rock-solid political stability, the recent uprooting of 20 milli
on civilians by the rains and floods has added a new dimension to the nuclear-ar
med country. The success or failure of the relief mission can change the country
. Ahmed Rashid in an article titled Last Chance for Pakistan claims that the flo
ods will weaken Pakistan further.
Groups such as Jamat ud Dawa and other Jihadi groups have accelerated the pace o
f their relief work, however small they may be. Fears of al Qaeda and Taliban (T
TP) using this opportunity to swell their cadres is battering the image of the “de
mocratic” government. Charities with links to militants have taken advantage of th
e vacuum left in Pakistan and delivered aid to thousands stranded by the floods,
possibly boosting their own standing among those communities. ”A big problem is t
hat while the Zardari government and the international community struggle to get
their act together the Islamist militants are already on the ground providing r
elief,” says Pakistan expert Bruce Riedel of the Brookings Institution, a Washingt
on think tank. The World Political Review makes an important observation when it
articulates that the militant groups have used the calamity to garner popularit
y and public support as the government of the day dithered. As per a report by A
P / Reuters, Pakistan government has promised to clamp down on “Charities” engaged i
n relief work. A clear ploy to convince the world that their aid would not be us
ed to radicalise Pakistan further.
Then there is public resentment against getting aid from Zardari’s Western friends
while the Muslim world has not loosened their purse strings as expected. The Pa
kistan Army has also accelerated pace of its work to convince the average Pakist
ani that they are their only saviors in Pakistan. This is evident from some of t
he observations in the media where people argue that, “The army may not be able to
fully govern but at the moment, without the further strengthening of democratic
and civilian institutions, Pakistan cannot be governed effectively without the
men in uniform”. The already weak democracy in Pakistan is thus paving the way for
the military and their fundamentalist groups to gain ground in governing Pakist
an. This CNN report outlines that Pakistan Army is capable of handling the flood
s and the militancy.
On the war front, the Americans are worried that the Pakistan Army has abandoned
operations against the militant groups in favour of relief operations. This has
affected their(US) efforts on the Af Pak borderlands. The floods have marginali
sed intensity of military operations while the militant groups are gaining in th
e battle for hearts and minds. Despite aid by America, the popular sentiment rem
ains anti American. This is a double whammy where US is losing out on the “War” and
the “hearts and minds”. While the immediate focus is on saving lives in Pakistan, th
e United States hopes one result of its rapid and generous response to the flood
s will be to help improve America’s dismal approval ratings in the country.
The environmental angle forebodes more such calamities for the world at large.
Scientists are divided in their opinion on the reasons for a spate of environmen
tal catastrophes unleashed this year. There is however consensus that this may j
ust be the beginning of erratic seasonal behaviours. This report is worth a read
.
The scale of the disaster caused by the floods in Pakistan, is barely comprehens
ible. As Juan Cole has written, expressing near disbelief : “The submerged area of
the country is as big as the United Kingdom, fourteen million Pakistanis are af
fected, two million are homeless.” Six million need immediate relief, according to
the UN., and thirty six thousand are suffering from acute diarrhoeal symptoms,
with cholera already diagnosed. 1,600 are reported dead, with the number certain
to multiply. Famine is a real possibility.
Then there is the human side of the calamity which has somehow got lost in the p
ower plays and games amongst the plethora of interested parties working at cross
purposes to alleviate this human suffering.
That Pakistan government, still seeped in anti India rhetoric, has refused India
n assistance at a time like this is incomprehensible.
It is time the Nuclear State did more with its F – 16 fleet/Chinese missiles and h
elped the destitute who may only be able to survive because their poverty and de
privation has made them rugged enough to overcome this adversity.