The politics of relief: Aliens in their own land
The government and local clerics refused to shelter around 500 flood-affected families belonging to the Ahmadiya community in South Punjab’s relief camps. Not only that, the government also did not send relief goods to the flood-hit areas belonging to the Ahmadiya community, The Express Tribune has learnt during a visit to the devastated Punjab districts of Muzaffargarh, Dera Ghazi Khan and Rajanpur.
Read more >> The Express Tribune
All disasters have political implications and mismanaging one comes at a very high price for an elected government. While some in the west are even predicting the crumbling of the democratic set-up in Pakistan, a more likely outcome could be the de-politicisation of the people and disillusionment with the political forces. With their eyes on the river beyond, the leadership must get its act together; they have to catch up, and fast.
Political leaders must take charge of shaping the narrative of this disaster and the recovery from it. They must articulate clearly and consistently that the gods are not in the business of unleashing havoc on innocent people and whole societies are not punished for the misdeeds of a few.
It may sound like a cliché but the late Munir Niazi’s words ring truer today than ever before:
“Ik aur darya ka samna tha Munir mujh ko,
Mein aik darya kay paar utra to mein ne dekha.”
The translation of the above verse cannot fully capture all its connotations but the gist obviously remains that a bigger river is looking us in the eye when we land across the flooded rivers. The magnitude of the present disaster is such that all statements about the river beyond will remain understatements and every estimate an underestimate. What might not be an understatement though is that, without a cogent political leadership, a major slide backwards is inevitable for Pakistan.
Read mmore >> Daily Times
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The key to development and progress is always a combination of political, economic, social and cultural changes that complement one another. Thus a country once derisively described by Henry Kissinger as the ‘world’s basket case’ can actually become the most dynamic of all South Asian nations.
The news from Bangladesh in the last few years has been consistently good, though we in Pakistan have learnt more about the spectacular political advances that country has made in the last year or so. The political advances should indeed be described as spectacular because in an era salient with the menace of Islamism and terrorism, Bangladesh has most wisely and foresightedly chosen to establish itself as a secular democracy. No doubt the political basis for it was laid when an Awami League government won a landslide victory in the December 29, 2008 elections, but the crucial decision was taken by the Supreme Court of that country, which declared Bangladesh a secular democracy in constitutional terms.
Read more >> Daily Times
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Sindh Province, Pakistan – The first things you notice are the flies. They form what looks like a buzzing black crust on children’s lips, eyes and foreheads. The children are either too tired to keep brushing them away or too used to them to bother.
“We have terrible problem with flies,” 50-year-old Khuda Jatoi says in Sindhi, the local language here. Everyone here is suffering from something. Still, the moment they see us, everyone scrambles to find a suitable place for us. Someone is trying to find a chair for us to sit down. Father Khuda Joti is insisting on giving us tea or sending someone to buy a cold drink. We are guests in his makeshift shelter, and he wants to give us the best of what he has. We cannot bring ourselves to take anything from him. He and his family have lost nearly everything they own.
They are victims of the worst floods Pakistan has ever seen, and yet they are trying to make us comfortable. That keeps happening everywhere we go. The day before, in a school-turned-clinic, a few ladies who had survived the floods handed me a “hair catcher” because they could see that I was sweating profusely, and they wanted to make me more comfortable. At the same time, the men kept fanning us with brightly colored hand fans. It makes me feel both ashamed about how much I have and don’t appreciate, and inspired by the kindness that is clearly being extended with no expectation of anything in return.
Read more >> CNN
As the victims of Pakistan’s worst-ever floods grow ever more desperate, the generosity of their fellow citizens is having unforeseen consequences in one aid camp. …
Courtesy: AlJazeera
via >> Globeistan
From terrorism to floods, Pakistan is suffering because of a lack of collective consciousness and indifference to the basic rules of self-preservation. The ruling elite must learn to establish good governance if Pakistan is to survive
When my family purchased an acre of land in Virginia, we thought we could build any size of home we liked. What we soon discovered was that the county’s residential codes did not allow tampering with certain water drainage areas and thus we had limited options about where to build. Besides the drainage area, we were not permitted to cut the trees that were older than 50 years. Consequently, the architect was given a specific size and location with which to design the house. The county supervisors physically checked the implementation of building codes at every step of the design and construction. Now, it may rain for weeks but the water flows freely through the drain.
In Pakistan, lack of governance has led to people grabbing public or state-owned land and blocking the natural flow of water. Therefore, the damage from the floods will be far more catastrophic than anyone’s expectations. However, the government can avail this opportunity and recover the old drains or natural outflow systems while reconstruction takes place.
Read more >> WICHAAR
In Bold Display, Taliban Order Stoning Deaths
By ROD NORDLAND
KABUL, Afghanistan — The Taliban on Sunday ordered their first public executions by stoning since their fall from power nine years ago, killing a young couple who had eloped, according to Afghan officials and a witness. …
Read more >> New York Times
Courtesy: SAMAA TV
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KBD would have caused more flooding: expert* Former IRSA chief says dam is not a flood-control project
Kalabagh dam is not flood-control Project: ex-Chairman IRSA Gandapur
PESHAWAR: The Kalabagh Dam – had it been built – would have caused flooding rather than averting it, a former chairman of the Indus River System Authority (IRSA) said on Wednesday, while responding to Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani’s recent statement about the dam.
“The dam’s effect on floods would have been contrary to what the prime minister claimed,” said Fatehullah Khan Gandapur, who headed IRSA from 1993 to 1998.
The KP leadership has criticised the PM’s statement, and Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain termed the project “a dead horse”. “Kalabagh dam is not a
flood-control project,” Gandapur said while talking to Daily Times on Wednesday. “It is a run-of-the-river project and its design has to be changed if we want to make it a flood-control project,” he said.
Kalabagh dam would have caused more flooding & it is not a flood-control Project: ex-Chairman IRSA
Gandapur said the dam’s construction would have caused reverse flow in the Kabul River, submerging Nowshera district and water-logging the entire Peshawar valley. “Consultants have called the dam’s design a failure,” he said.
Courtesy: Daily Times, August 12, 2010.
by Dr Ali Akbar Dhakan, Karachi, Sindh
Since denationalization, liberalization and privatization of banks in Pakistan mostly 1980s, the private banks and foreign banks have earned Trillions of Rupees as profit yearly. At present there are 4 bank in public sector, 4 specialized banks, 25 private local banks, 7 foreign banks, 8 development financial institution and 7 micro finance banks.Since their start, they have earned not less than about 20 billion each every year. If we see their performance they have done no service for the common people of Pakistan .They have earned their profit for their owners (Seths ) and they keep that money in foreign countries for their future safety and children and families to live abroad with luxuries and lavish expenditures .In the days of tragedy and calamities throughout the country Pakistan, they must have felt their utmost duties and responsibilities to bring back all the money kept by them in the foreign countries and donate at least rupees 2 billion each bank to rehabilitate and accommodate our devastated people who are bravely facing with the hardships and odd times in the floods.
Dear Friends in Diplomatic Missions, Foreign Offices, Embassies, Media & Donor Agencies,
As you know, the unprecedented monsoon rains in Pakistan have triggered a massive humanitarian crisis that have threatened the lives and well-being of millions of people in the floodwaters’ path, particularly villagers and residents of (KACHO) riverine areas of Sindh, claiming over 850 lives and affecting nearly 8 million people. These floods are recorded as being the worst to ravage Sindh in a 100 years. Roads and farms are submerged in water, putting estimated relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction costs at more than 600 billion Rupees. Those entrapped and displaced are suffering acutely due to lack of boats, helicopters, ground transport, shelter, food and clean water. This is an hour we all must come together and show our wholehearted support for the flood survivors. It is critical that the immediate needs such as transport, food, clean water and medicine are provided to those affected. Its the human suffering that stares one in the face – collapsed houses, desperate faces, people running after relief materials, scores of families entrapped on roofs, huddled in temporary shelters and destruction of standing crops on lacks of acres of land. Most of the remote parts of Northern Sindh have been badly hit, dozens of towns including Thul, Ghauspur, Karampur, Tangwani have been inundated and damaged severely, more than a million helpless people are still encircled by water, hundreds of villagers including women and Children have drowned and disappeared, houses, domestic animals, vehicles, fish ponds, tube-wells and crops have been completely damaged.
By Tahir Qazi, MD
The 14th of August 2010 marks 63rd birthday of Pakistan. On the first day of August, the Ambassador of Pakistan to the US confidently announced on CNN, “When I go back to being a professor, I will certainly teach history but right now, I’m working along with my colleagues in the US government and trying to shape history ….” The statement bears an awe inspiring elitism and intellectual arrogance.
The age of Twitter has distorted the Pakistani Ambassador’s sense of history and historic processes. Deluded into thinking that he is shaping history, he does not realize that Pakistan is bobbing in the ocean of history whose currents he does not and cannot control; to paraphrase famous remarks of German chancellor Bismark.
Nonetheless, the statement rings an odd truth about Pakistan that the history of Pakistan is mostly ‘Made in America’. Pakistani leaders have been trying to shape the history of their nation for a long time from Jeddah to London to Washington, virtually from everywhere but Pakistan.
Read more >> Countercurrents.org
Pakistan Says Militants Surpass India as Threat
Fundamental Shift Could Affect Afghan War, Bilateral Talks
By TOM WRIGHT in Islamabad and SIOBHAN GORMAN in Washington
Pakistan’s main spy agency says homegrown Islamist militants have overtaken the Indian army as the greatest threat to national security, a finding with potential ramifications for relations between the two rival South Asian nations and for the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan. …
Read more >> WALL STREET JOURNAL
SAPAC Meets With President Obama
Milwaukee, WI- Delegates of the Sindhi-American community, including Sindhi American Political Action Committee (SAPAC) leadership, met today with President Barack Obama. Other politicians in attendance were Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle, Senator Herb Kohl (D-WI), and Congresswoman Gwen Moore (D-WI). SAPAC Executive Director Munawar Laghari, SAPAC Vice-President Dr. Ikramulla Ahmadani, Board of Directors member Dr. Khalid Zaman and Advisory Board members Hanne and Michelle, along with other members of the Sindhi-American community, spoke directly with President Obama regarding US-PK policies.
President Obama was engaged in the conversation and appreciative to hear of the first-hand Sindh perspective regarding flood assistance and Pakistan governance. SAPAC is confident that this positive experience will be the first of many between Sindhi-Americans and US leadership.
August 16, 2010
DIPLOMATIC BUBBLES: Disaster tourism amidst concern for Muslim Ummah —By Saeed Minhas
Excerpt:
…. Countries like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Egypt and their oil-controlling giant Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has contributed only a couple of hundred million dollars altogether, and that too through the Red Crescent or other International organisations for in-kind donations. Despite knowing that over 65 helicopters, 19 of which come from the US alone, are working around the clock, none of these oil-rich countries have even asked to foot the oil bill or donate oil for these humanitarian sorties. An hour of a helicopter flight costs an estimated Rs 100,000 in fuel expenses alone, and so far as per the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) figures, over 200 hours of flight operations have been carried out throughout Pakistan.
Another diplomat chipped in by saying that all these ‘brothers’ seem to be good enough for political and strategic guarantees but nothing more for Pakistan. …
To read full article >> Daily Times
Editorial: Turmoil in Panjgur
The political and security situation in Panjgur, a district located on the Iranian border, has turned very hostile and tense after the Frontier Corps (FC) shot dead Hussain Baloch, a young political activist belonging to Katagri area. Hussain was among hundreds of male and female protestors who demonstrated against the recent arrest of three Baloch leaders Dr. Abid Shah, Safeer Baloch and Abdul Sattar Paromi. …
Read more >> TheBalochhal
ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court was hearing petitions challenging the 18th Amendment on Monday, DawnNews reported.
A 17-judge full court, headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, was hearing petitions challenging certain clauses in the Amendment.
During the hearing, the federation lawyer said that the parliament’s powers were limitless.
Responding to that, Chief Justice Iftikhar said that limitless powers could secularise the country.
Read more >> DAWN
by Munawar Ali
We know that this is not the only flood in history. On one hand the corrupt govenment officials put all funds in their pockets and [according to conspiracy theories] on the other hand some selfish politicians artificially cut the Torri bund just to save their lands and some say to save Pano Aqil cantonment. These leaders have drowned and destroyed whole Sindh now. There is Ali Wahan site from where normally water is discharged in case of such floods, which would have caused least damage to the life of people and few towns affected. Now whole of upper Sindh is drowned and still continuing, spreading to all of Sindh. This is very disturbing that for personal gains of couple of politicians whole Sindh has been destroyed.
Courtesy: Mehran & SANAlist, August 16, 2010
Courtesy: ARY News
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By Dr. Khalil Ahmad
….. In view of the above analysis, it is obvious that at least and at best what we must aim at is trying to save the law of the land, i.e. basically the Constitution. No doubt, we should not raise moral questions, because raising moral questions before a government which is thoroughly Machiavellian in its intent is just useless. It is only on the ground of laws that this government may be confronted with, perhaps convinced, or in case it cannot be convinced which has been the case till now, then we must put as much pressure as may force it to be acting within the confines of laws and the constitutional provisions. That minimum achievement will be the maximum gain for this nation and the country upon which we may be able to build a decriminalized state. If we fail to halt the further criminalization of the state of Pakistan, we the people should be ready to be ruled not by laws, but by criminals instead of persons!
To read full article >> Asinstitue
The White House, Office of the President, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20500
Honorable President Barack Obama,
The floodwaters have risen in Sindh-Pakistan for the past week. Roughly 20 million people have been affected, losing their homes, livelihoods, villages and loved ones. 1600 people have died, two million are homeless, 36,000 are suffering from waterborne illnesses and 2,439 villages have been totally destroyed. This natural disaster has been compared to and believed to exceed in magnitude that of the Sri Lankan Tsunami, the Haiti Earthquake and our own Hurricane Katrina- and the situation is worsening by the hour as the monsoon season continues.
The Sindhi American Political Action Committee, on behalf of the Sindhi-American Community, wishes for you and your administration to fully understand the urgency of this situation and the limited impact that foreign aid (including our own) has made to relieve this crisis. Pakistan is no doubt grateful for the assistance so far provided- $73 million in aid, food, shelter and fresh water for those displaced, and the help of American service men and women have helped hundreds survive the flood. Sindhis, however, remain fearful.
Will the Pakistan floods strike again?
By Howard Falcon-Lang
The recent floods in Pakistan’s Indus Valley are of truly Biblical proportions. …
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The “Great Mother”
The Indus is one of the world’s great rivers.
From its headwaters in the Himalayas of Tibet, it flows north-west through India before turning sharply south across Pakistan. It finally discharges into the Arabian Sea, a journey of some 3,200km (2,000 miles). ….
… ..During a warm period 6,000 years ago, the Indus was a monster river, more powerful and more prone to flooding than today.
Then, 4,000 years ago, as the climate cooled, a large part of it simply dried up. Deserts appeared whether mighty torrents once flowed.
Professor Clift believes that this failure of the Indus may have triggered the collapse of the great Harappan civilisation.
The city ruins of Mohenjo-daro, a relict of this lost culture, date from the time when the rivers ran dry. …
To read full article >> BBC Science & Environment
KARACHI, Aug 13: The Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum on Friday observed that floods caused devastation on a massive scale because local feudal lords with the connivance of government officials and legislators of successive ruling parties had cut forests and encroached upon its land for cultivation.
Besides, the small embankments they had built in the riverbed to stop the natural flow of the Indus River and to cultivate crops resulted in the flooding of low-lying settlements along the river, observed the participants of a PFF meeting held to review the flood situation in Sindh.
Read more >> DAWN
Black pepper (kaaraa merch) have Chromium and Chrysin compounds. Chrysin is a bioflavonoid and it is a natural aromatase-inhibitor that increases free testosterone. Therefore, pepper has libido-enhancing effect and anti anxiety properties. Chromium is trace mineral that balance the sugar in our body. Different levels of sugar/glucose in the body effects the mood, therefore, by balancing the sugar levels in the body black peppers help keep up the good mood.
New Delhi, Aug 13 (IANS) Setting aside bitterness over the failed talks between India and Pakistan last month, External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna Friday spoke to his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi and offered $5 million for flood victims in Pakistan.
In a telephone conversation, Krishna conveyed to his Pakistani counterpart India’s solidarity with the people of Pakistan in their hour of need, the external affairs ministry said here.
On behalf of the people and government of India, he also conveyed deepest sympathies and condolences to the people and Government of Pakistan at this natural disaster, the ministry added.
During the conversation, Krishna offered the Indian government’s assistance of $5 million for relief material from India for the victims of the floods.
India’s solidarity with flood victims and offer of aid to Pakistan is seen as an important gesture to create a positive atmosphere despite bitter recriminations that followed the July 15 talks between the foreign ministers of the two countries.
Read more >> Thaindian
TRYST WITH DESTINY
by: Deepak Mirchandani, Toronto, Canada
…I am a Sindhi – a Hindu Sindhi, with roots in Hyderabad, Sindh, in modern day Pakistan. I cannot celebrate the partition – because the partition stands as a reminder that my family was uprooted. Having history embedded in the motherland of Sindh for 11 generations, my parents had to flee angry mobs. And what reason do I have to celebrate the freedom of India? The generation before me spent time in refugee camps, with no sanitation. They begged and pleaded the government of India for assistance, and received none. Sindhis, being who they are, with a spirit of adventure and resilience to the harshest environments, took matters into their own hands, scattered the world over, and made fortunes that most only fantasize about.
Hindu Sindhis don’t have a homeland in India. Where is Sindhi culture heading in India? Towards extinction, in my opinion. My generation, and the one after me, can barely speak the language, let alone read and write it. Who are Shah Abdul Latif, Sachal Sarmast to us? Some obscure names in Sindhi Literature.
While most Hindu Sindhis the world over rejoice during India’s Independence Day, I for one, shed tears for the lives lost during the mayhem of 1947, on both sides of the great divide. I shed tears for never having set foot on the sacred soil of Mother Sindh. I shed tears that future generations will have but a fleeting glimpse of where their heritage is from. I shed tears because my culture is slipping away from me.
But, I rejoice that I am a Sindhi. I rejoice that I belong to one of the richest cultures in the world. I rejoice that we have a rich literary background in the Sindhi language. I rejoice for Sindhi values. I rejoice for Sindhis being a kind and compassionate people.
And yet, I am saddened that I don’t have a homeland. My fellow Sindhis, the future of Sindh has been entrusted to you. Stand tall, stand proud of the soil of Sindh. I repeat this story time and time again. I once asked a fellow Sindhi what it is that he likes most about Sindh. His reply – “the fragrance of the soil after a rainfall.” Alas, will I ever experience that fragrance?
Courtesy: Sindhi e-lists, August 13, 2009
by Sarfraz Memon
Every year there is budget of billions of rupees to clean the canals and reinforce the banks, but that never happens. We all know how much rich are the corrupt engineers of irrigation department in Sindh. Those corrupt ministers, engineers, civil-Military bureaucrats and politicians proudly display their bungalows that value 100-200 million rupees. Have multiple cars and drivers. Have lands and fishing ponds. And because they don’t want people to see all they have, they probably own kilograms of gold, for future use. These corrupt engineers don’t even settle for Lacs, but Crores every month. The race goes on between irrigation and other specialties such as roads and buildings, who make billions of rupees showing roads, public facilities, sewer, and schools, built on paper. …
Courtesy: SANAlist, August 13, 2010
Due to violent monsoon and floods thousands of people have already migrated from Ghotki, Sukkur, Larkana, Shikarpur and Jacobabad. In a latest development 90% of Jacobabad has been evacuated. Special trains have been mobilized for the refugees, heading towards Hyderabad and Karachi. Humanitarian Community is requested to respond accordingly. There may be some other camps but so far four camps are identified in Karachi by our civil society teams, political parties and media friends.
The mass evacuation of Jacobabad due to flood waters that are approaching fast to the city, Sindh Government has decided to move the IDPs from Jacobabad to Karachi , Hyderabad and Jamshoro. The current update is that CDGK has identified following four locations in Karachi where the IDPs will be brought in 1. Gaddap, 2. Bin Qasim Town, 3. Kiamari, 4. Toll Plaza
KARACHI: Chakra Goth, Korangi: In this camp at least 40 families, migrated from Thul, Jacobabad are living in very vulnerable conditions. To babies were born during floods and they are in a very critical health conditions.
Shah Rasool Colony, near Abdullah Shah Ghazi mazar, Saddar Town: 32 families are migrated from Kachho of Larkana, most are women and minor kids.
Mehmoodabad Graveyard: 45 families from different flood hit areas of upper Sindh are there and looking for help.
Sachal Goth: hundreds of flood survivors, displaced and now living on footpaths in a very pathetic situation. …
via – Zulfiqar Halepoto through Sindhi e-lists/ e-groups
