Pakistan Floods Appeal – President Continues Europe Visit

Aid agencies urge support for Pakistan floods appeal with warnings of spreading disease and life-threatening food shortages amid the worst flooding in Pakistan for 80 years.

President Zardari faced mounting criticism yesterday over his six-day visit to Europe as aid agencies warned of life-threatening food shortages amid the floods in Pakistan

Pakistan Floods

The Pakistan Government is struggling to deal with the floods in the north west that have killed 1,700 people and affected 3.2 million.

As the country braced itself for continued torrential monsoon rains in the south yesterday  Mr Zardari’s aides defended his decision not to cancel the trip, which includes a visit to his family’s château in France. They said that he was staying at London’s “cheapest five-star hotel” — the Churchill Hyatt Regency in Portman Square — which was picketed by people protesting at his visit.

European Joyride

Mr Zardari’s refusal to curtail what critics call a European “joyride” is raising grave questions about his leadership as the opposition, the army and even a banned charity are upstaging his Government in the flood relief effort.

Nawaz Sharif, the opposition leader and former Prime Minister, visited the northwestern town of Charsadda, one of the worst affected, and told reporters that Pakistanis been “let down very badly by Mr Zardari”.

“The Government has failed to perform its duty in the crisis. They should have used all their resources to help the flood victims,”

Mr Sharif’s brother, Shahbaz, who is Chief Minister of Punjab province, also visited flooded areas and pledged to compensate all those affected.

Imran Khan, the former national cricket captain, who is now an opposition politician, said that Mr Zardari should be in Pakistan to handle the disaster.

“Any talks can be postponed — surely the priority should be your own people,” he told ITV. “And then to go on this lavish tour — this money could be used on the victims.”

The Government’s failure to cope with the floods means that relief efforts are being mostly handled by the army, enhancing its reputation as the country’s most powerful and effective institution. The army, which has ruled Pakistan for roughly half its history, said yesterday that it had rescued more than 60,000 people from flood-hit areas using 40 helicopters and 450 army boats.

Soldiers Donate a Days Salary

General Ashfaq Kayani, the army chief, also announced that every soldier would donate a day’s salary to a relief fund set up by the Prime Minister. “Army is working at full pace and capacity to extend maximum help to the people,” he said in a statement.

Banned Charity Sends Aid

The Government’s failings have also opened a window for Jamaat-ud-Dawa, a banned Islamist charity, to win public support as it has during previous crises. Yousuf Raza Gilani, the Prime Minister, who chaired an emergency Cabinet meeting yesterday, announced later that government ministers would each donate a month’s salary to the fund.

Jamaat-ud-Dawa is considered a front for the militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba and was banned and placed on a UN blacklist in 2008 over the latter’s alleged role in the attack that year on Mumbai. The charity said yesterday that it was sending ten truckloads of goods and nine medical teams to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the northwestern province worst affected by the floods.