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Pakistan Community Newsletter
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August23, 2010 |
World has pledged more than $800m: Qureshi
ISLAMABAD: The international community has donated or pledged more than $800 million to help Pakistan cope with the devastating floods, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said on Sunday. Addressing a press conference on his return from New York where he attended a special UN General Assembly session on the Pakistan situation, the foreign minister thanked the world countries for giving and pledging $815.58 million in assistance to ease sufferings of the flood-hit people. “In such a situation, when the West and Europe and America are in recession and donor fatigue is being discussed, this kind of solidarity for Pakistan, I think, is very encouraging,” Mr Qureshi said. The UN had appealed for $459 million in initial response funds. He said the Asian Development Bank had assured Pakistan of providing $2 billion for flood victims. “There were two main reasons why I attended the UN General Assembly special meeting: first to apprise the world of the magnitude of the disaster caused by floods and second to get more and more pledges from the international community,” he said. “The session marked doubling of the $460m emergency relief appeal the UN launched on Aug 11. More than 40 countries announced pledges amounting to $254.5 million at the special session of the General Assembly, bringing the total aid pledges to $815.59 million,” he said. He said the special session of the General Assembly had been meant for one day but it had to be extended to another day because of an overwhelming response from the international community. The minister said that during his stay in New York he held meetings with several foreign ministers and the UN Secretary General and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and briefed them about the flood situation. He said that the agenda of the forthcoming meeting of Friends of Democratic Pakistan to be held in Brussels on Oct 14 and 15 was being revised to include needs of Pakistan in the wake of unprecedented floods. He lauded the role of the international and national media in the hour of need saying that all international channels were highlighting the floods and helping Pakistan to generate funds. He said that American newspapers were also writing editorials to help Pakistan’s cause. Mr Qureshi said he also interacted in the US with the Pakistani community and NGOs and asked them to highlight the suffering of the people. The minister said that during a meeting an EU representative agreed to give Pakistani exports more access to EU markets to offset the losses caused by the crisis.
ISLAMABAD: Floods in Pakistan have destroyed or extensively damaged crops over 4.25 million acres (1.72 million hectares) of land, Food Minister Nazar Muhammad Gondal said on Monday. The total areas under cultivation is about 23 million hectares, food ministry officials say. “The floods have destroyed or extensively damaged crops, including cotton, rice, sugarcane, maize and others over an area of 4.25 million acres,” he told Reuters. According to an estimated breakdown of losses prepared by the food ministry, rice was the worst hit with an area of 1.51 million acres (614,157 hectares) destroyed by the floods. Industry officials say that translates into a loss of 1.5 million tonnes of rice. Less output means Pakistan will have a smaller surplus for exports. Pakistan had a bumper crop of 6.7 million tonnes of milled rice in 2009/10 and exported about 4.5 million tonnes, traders say. But a US Department of Agriculture attache in Pakistan said in a report this month that the country exported 3.75 million tonnes of rice in 2009/10. -Reuters
KARACHI: Authorities in Pakistan were battling on Monday to save Shahdadkot, a city in the flood-devastated province of Sindh, after a mass evacuation as floodwaters threatened to wreak further havoc. The near month-long floods have killed 1,500 people and affected up to 20 million nationwide in the country's worst natural disaster, with the threat of disease ever-present in the miserable camps sheltering penniless survivors. Tens of thousands of people have been evacuated from flood-threatened areas in the south since Saturday, including from Shahdadkot, with most of the city's 100,000 residents escorted to safety or making a getaway by any means possible. Dozens of villages around Shahdadkot were inundated, district administration official Yasin Shar told AFP, as flood waters threatened the city. “We have issued final warning to remaining residents to leave Shahdadkot as the danger of flooding was mounting,” Shar said, adding that no casualties had been reported so far. Nearly 90 per cent of people living in the city and surrounding villages had left and the remaining were being rushed out, he said. On Sunday, Sindh provincial irrigation minister Jam Saifullah Dharejo said that urgent efforts were being made to save the city by reinforcing an embankment built to protect it. But the embankment was under pressure from the waters and “we are trying to save the city from the unprecedented flood”, he said. Dharejo, however, stressed there was no threat to Hyderabad, the second-largest city in Sindh and Pakistan's sixth biggest overall with a population of 2.5 million. The government has faced an outpouring of fury over perceived sluggish relief efforts, while officials warn the country faces ruinous economic losses of up to 43 billion dollars. Millions of survivors are in desperate need of food, shelter and clean drinking water and require humanitarian assistance to survive, as concerns grow over potential cholera, typhoid and hepatitis outbreaks. Maurizio Giuliano, spokesman for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Islamabad, told AFP that 1.5 million people were being treated for everything from respiratory and skin infections to diarrhoea. “The estimate of those currently without shelter is now 4.8 million. Tents and plastic sheets are in the pipeline for 2.4 million people, while one million already received these items,” Giuliano added. Hadi Kalhoro, administration official of the town of Sujawal, 80 kilometres south of Hyderabad, said that 100,000 people had been evacuated from adjoining villages during the past five days alone. “Flooding has destroyed banana plantations and sugar cane crop in the region, but so far there are no casualties,” Kalhoro said. The International Monetary fund is expected to begin talks with Pakistani officials this week on restructuring a 10-billion-dollar loan. The IMF in 2008 approved a rescue package for Pakistan as the country struggled to cope with bloody attacks by radicals, 30-year-high inflation and fast-depleting reserves. UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Friday praised the global community as emergency donations for Pakistan neared 500 million dollars, but warned the country faces “years of need”. The United States has given the most, followed by Saudi Arabia and Britain. However, Louis-Georges Arsenault, head of emergency operations for Unicef, the UN children's fund, said the international community could do far more. “One of the major challenges we have, which is quite extraordinary, is the lack of level of support from the international community right now,” Arsenault told the BBC. “Our level of needs in terms of funding is huge compared to what we have been receiving even though this is the largest, by far, humanitarian crisis that we have seen in decades.”
Blast kills at least 18 in South Waziristan
WANA: A blast inside a mosque in Pakistan's South Waziristan tribal region on the Afghan border killed at least 18 people on Monday, intelligence officials said. “Apparently it was a suicide attack and Maulana Noor Mohammad was the target,” said an intelligence official in Wana, referring to a former MNA and a pro-government official. e innings. -AP
By Bhagwandas
KARACHI: Almost every ruling and opposition parties have opposed the Muttahida Qaumi Movement chief Altaf Hussain’s call to ‘patriotic generals to take action similar to martial law against corrupt politicians’, saying that a civilian set-up must be supported over a military rule. MQM chief Altaf Hussain told his party workers on Sunday that army generals had imposed martial laws in the past and so they could take a similar action again to weed out corrupt politicians and the MQM would support such an act. Every party expressed its concern over the MQM chief’s call. Commenting on Mr Hussain’s speech, a senior leader of the Pakistan People’s Party, Taj Haider, said that “such statements are not welcome”. However, he hastily added that he would not say anything that might affect the working relationship of the PPP and the MQM, which are coalition partner at the centre and in Sindh. “We are following the policy of reconciliation and would continue to pursue it.” Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) leader Saleem Zia said that his party had a great respect for the country’s armed forces and it was a firm believer that every organisation should play its due role as envisaged in the Constitution. He said that the army was doing a wonderful job in the fight against militancy, it had defended the country from external threats, it had done a good job in the relief and rehabilitation work after the 2005 earthquake and it was doing a good rescue and relief operation amid devastating floods. He said that the intervention of armed forces in politics was not a good thing and earlier experiences had shown that the country suffered a lot during military rules. He said that the MQM was a partner in the general Musharraf-led government, which was almost like a martial law, and as to why it did not ask the then military ruler to weed out corruption. He said that corruption was rampant in the country in every segment of the society, but it was inappropriate to target just politicians. He said that his party would never support army intervention to remove a civilian set up. Ghaus Bakhsh Mahar of the Pakistan Muslim League (Q) said that though the current civilian set up had given worst governance and corruption was rampant, yet he would not support the army intervention to disrupt the civilian set up. He said that he believed that even worst of the democratic governments was better than the best of dictatorships. He said that the present civilian government had failed miserably as it was taking important national decisions just for personal gains. Amin Khattak of the Awami National Party said that his party would not support martial law. He said that the past experience showed that the country had suffered greatly under martial laws. He said that heroin and gun culture was the product/gifts of the past martial laws. He said that during the military rules, sectarian and ethnic organizations were created to divide the political forces. He said that even a bad democratic government was better than a good martial law. A leader of the Pakistan Muslim League (Functional), Jam Madad Ali, said that martial law is not a good form of government and he always preferred democracy. He said that he would not support martial law. However, he said that effective steps should be taken to check the menace of corruption. He said he would support any action taken to control corruption but under a civilian set up. He said that people of the country did not like martial laws and had always protested against the dictatorial regimes. Jamiat Ulema Islam (F) leader Qari Usman said that their party could not support martial law as the pervious experiences had shown that the country had suffered a great deal under the army rules. He said that to root out corruption there were proper anti-corruption laws the only thing missing was their proper implementation. He said his party would not support any new martial law. Meanwhile, despite repeated attempts, this reporter could not able to contact any leader of the Jamaat-i-Islami to get their viewpoint.
Floodwater level rises by 15ft in Jaffarabad, 52 killed
QUETTA: After the entrance of more flood tides from three sides into Jaffarabad, water level has risen by 13-15 feet in many areas, particularly in the district headquarters Dera Allah Yar, while a Provincial District Management Authority-compiled report confirmed the displacement of 1.1 million people and deaths of 40 persons by raging floods in Balochistan. On Sunday, dozens of flood victims – most of them children suffering from gastroenteritis and other waterborne diseases – were brought to Dera Murad Jamali, Sibi and Quetta hospitals. Doctors told media that due to acute shortage of required medicines at the hospitals and medical camps, fear of deaths of a large number of such patients had emerged. During the last few days after the worst-ever floods hit Balochistan’s districts, over 52 persons infected with waterborne diseases have died, the major cause of which is being said to be the non-provision of timely medical treatment and non-availability of necessary medicines at camps and hospitals. app
MQM to support generals against corrupt politicians, says Altaf * Party chief says he will support any act by ‘patriotic army generals’, including martial law * Demands initiation of cases of mass murder against influentials, landlords Staff Report
KARACHI: The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) will support any act against ‘corrupt politicians’ and former generals by ‘patriotic Pakistani army generals’, including martial law, MQM chief Altaf Hussain said on Sunday. In his telephonic address from London to the MQM’s General Workers’ Convention in Azizabad, Altaf said his party would support steps like martial law if taken against “corrupt feudals and landlord politicians”. He urged “patriotic generals to initiate martial law-like steps against feudal politicians and former generals who disgraced the army institution during the Soviet-Afghan war”. “The MQM is ready to take any risk for steps taken against political stalwarts for eradicating corruption and benefiting the country. To nip the major evils of society, it is sometimes acceptable to support the minor ones,” he said, adding that the country was in desperate need of a change much like the French Revolution, and by stirring such a revolution, the MQM would cause consternation for the influentials, landlords and capitalists. Cases: He demanded the initiation of cases of mass murder against influentials and landlords “who save their crops and divert floods towards the localities as well as villages of the poor people”. “These influentials and landlords have always created hurdles for the poor and middle classes, restraining them from entering politics to serve their country,” he said, adding that the political stalwarts seemed determined on disintegrating the country. He said pockets of religious parties’ representatives and former army generals had stuffed their pockets with dollars during the Soviet-led war in Afghanistan, while “orphan mujahideen” were becoming fuel for the Taliban. He urged US President Barack Obama to review his policy and to stand by the masses instead of influentials and landlords. “Pakistan’s foreign policy is comparatively ineffective than India’s, which has an influential and effective policy,” he said, adding that the country’s foreign policy cannot be changed by thieves, corrupt generals and influentials. “Pakistani officials shop during their stays abroad, while Indian officials work for their country,” he said, adding that the masses, the army and ISI officials should decide whether they would take dictation from America or part ways and make their own decisions. He appealed to the people to support the flood victims and said that those who deliberately broke the embankments during the floods were the enemies of humanity. He applauded the efforts of the Pakistan Army, saying that the army personnel had played their role for the betterment of the country in every difficult situation. Back to Top
* Afghan president admits individual contacts with militia * Women’s rights groups see talks with hardliners a threat WASHINGTON: Afghan President Hamid Karzai has said that there is no formal discussion between his government and the Taliban, although he admitted to individual contacts with the former rulers of Kabul. “Of course, there are individual contacts with some Taliban elements – that’s not yet a formal process,” Karzai told ‘This Week’ programme at the ABC television. However, the Afghan leader said that there was a clear course towards possible future talks peace with the insurgents. “The roadmap is clear. The indications for peace would be that Afghanistan will be ready to talk to those Taliban powers who belong to Afghanistan and are not part of al Qaeda, who are not part of any other terrorist network, who accept the Afghan constitution and the progress that we have achieved in the past so many years,” he said. Karzai said talks could also be possible with members of the Taliban willing to return to a normal civilian life and who were not connected to any foreign body outside of Afghanistan. He made his comments after Taliban military inroads in the south and east of the country, and as the group continues to maintain its strongholds in the Afghanistan’s north. Women’s rights groups have said that peace talks and any future path towards legitimacy for the Taliban is threatening for women in Afghanistan and could erode their hard-won constitutional rights. Women who become politically active often face death threats and some have been murdered or forced into exile. The Taliban rule from 1996 to 2001 in Afghanistan was marked by general repression that was particularly brutal to women, who were not allowed out unless accompanied by a male relative and wearing a burqa. afp
Opposition leader in National Assembly (NA) Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan had said the statement given by Altaf Hussain was highly irresponsible statement in the prevailing situation adding Supreme Court should take suo motu notice of such statement. "The statement given by Altaf Hussain on Sunday has put Pakistan into highly grave situation. It does not seem to me any politician is speaking. This is extremely irresponsible statement in the current situation. Not only government but the election commission and supreme court should take notice of it. I don't know where the drum beaters of government have vanished. As to why they have not taken notice of it. Opposition would file privilege motion in National Assembly (NA) within a few days, Opposition leader Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan told.
Government decides to take $100 million soft loan from IMF: Babar RECORDER REPORT ISLAMABAD (August 23 2010): Federal Law Minister Babar Awan has said that the government has decided in principle to take $100 million soft loan from International Monitory Fund (IMF) to meet the expenses of relief and rehabilitation of the flood affected people. He stated this while addressing a press conference at his residence here on Sunday. The Minister said that it is the need of the hour to accept the soft loan to meet the urgent needs of the affected people. He also referred to the example of United States, saying that it also took loans of billions of dollars from China to meet its needs. He further added that the Parliamentary Committee for the appointments of judges under the 18th Amendment could not be formed as long as petitions challenging the amendment are in the courts. He further said that after September 5, the judges of the Balochistan High Court would be retired and the new judges could not be appointed in the absence of the proposed parliamentary committee. He said that the government respects the judiciary and would wait till its decision in this regard. The Minister said that PML-N should not adopt double standard with respect to the appointment of the judges, as on one hand it supported the 18th Amendment, and on the other, it criticised the government on the judges' appointment in the absence of the Parliamentary Committee. To a question, the Minister said that the government has constituted a Council on the recommendations of the provinces instead of a proposed Commission as agreed by Prime Minister and PML-N Chief Nawaz Sharif to oversee the relief and rehabilitation activities. "Takhat Lahore' should shun doing politics on national issues and focus on the flood affectees", he maintained. PML-N, he said, making things controversial aimed at diverting focus from the bad governance of the Punjab and cited the incidents of the broad daylight murdering of the two innocent brothers in the presence of police in Sialkot and torturing the lady doctors in Bahawalpur the other day. The Minister also demanded of the PML-N to give details of the "Qarz Uttaro Mulk sawaro" campaign, saying that the amount could be used for the flood affectees. He appreciated the role of the international community for their support and contribution for the flood affectees, adding that the government is waiting for the assistance of Organisations of Islamic Countries.
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