Floods devastation

Source: The News

Date: August 31, 2010

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has forwarded three different proposals to the government for generating additional revenue of Rs 130 billion, including imposing 10 percent flood surcharge on profits of 7,000 corporate sector companies having earned Rs 642 billion profit in last financial year.

Pakistan’s tax authorities have proposed to impose certain percentage of tax on profits of around 7,000 corporate sector companies and the collected amount should be utilised for reconstruction work in flood-affected areas.

The corporate sector companies can be convinced to utilise the money by themselves for reconstruction work of specific areas by giving them recognition. “We think that no one will oppose any such proposal when he knows that the money is being utilised to provide relief to the flood-

affected people,” said the official.

The FBR has offered two more proposals: to impose 5-10 percent surcharge on tax liabilities of those who earned more than Rs 300,000 per

annum. The taxable ceiling of Rs 300,000 is already exempted from the tax.

For more details: http://thenews.com.pk/31-08-2010/ethenews/t-271.htm

 

249 fell victim to targeted killings in seven months

Source: Dawn
Date:30 Aug, 2010

KARACHI: As many as 249 people fell victim to targeted killings during the period from Jan 1 to Aug 6 in different parts of the city, police department statistics show.

People from a wide cross section of society have been targeted in the shootings which show that different forces are pursuing their deadly agendas.

During the period of over six months, people were targeted for their political affiliations, sectarian beliefs or for the language they speak. There were also cases when people were killed in targeted attacks but their political or sectarian affiliation was not clear.

As armed men practically ruled the streets of the city during the specified dates killing people freely, the law-enforcement agencies remained silent spectators while the government remained paralysed and numbed.

View the Link: http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/local/249-fell-victim-to-targeted-killings-in-seven-months-080

Side Effect

Source: The News

Date: August 27, 2010

Our current set of rulers. Feudal lords and ladies they are. If not feudal, they are tribal chieftains or, scarily, big businessmen, the wannabe feudal in Pakistan's context, with large estates and aspirations to be counted among the landed elite. The president, the prime minister, the speaker of the National Assembly, the foreign minister, the interior minister, the four chief ministers, a large number of federal and provincial ministers, all fall in the same category.
Those who play opposition these days are no different. And, interestingly, with the exception of the PML-Q every significant party is a part of some federal or provincial government setup. Many of these politicians have used their office to increase their own and their cronies' assets, profits and political power. And they continue to do that since the time of Liaquat Ali Khan, Khaliquzzaman, Gurmani, Daultana, Mamdot, Shaukat Hayat, Chaudhry Mohammed Ali and Ghulam Mohammed.
Now look at the other set of rulers we had for nearly 35 years during the six decades of our political history. The self-proclaimed messiahs, the patriotic generals, who claimed to be able to fix everything that was dysfunctional, corrupt and ineffective, be it the economy, the judicial system, the cricket board, or the personal morality and Islamic practices of the irreverent citizens of the state.
To start with, generals get a larger share from the national exchequer even officially. The unscrupulous ones mint money through contracts, commissions, establishing businesses or appropriating senior civilian jobs offered by the state. Besides, the dividends for individuals from businesses run by the military as an institution cannot be overlooked. In addition to urban real estate, many of these senior military men are awarded fertile chunks of cultivable land across Pakistan.

View the link: http://www.thenews.com.pk/27-08-2010/opinion/1426.htm

 

 

 

Half a million more asked to evacuate in sindh

Source: The News

Date: August 27, 2010

HYDERABAD: Authorities ordered nearly half-a-million people to evacuate nearby towns on Thursday as rising floods threatened further havoc in Sindh. In a late night development, authorities ordered all residents of Thatta city to evacuate to safer places as water levels rose. Villagers fled trailing north in vans laden with furniture or crowded into buses, or in carts pulled by oxen. Some people were on foot, leading their livestock.

Water lined the road from Hyderabad to Thatta town, as workers frantically used bulldozers to dig embankments only just higher than the flooding, and where people camped out under open skies or in makeshift tents.

A senior administration official warned that fresh floods threatened three towns. A breach into the MS Thatta embankment has inundated many villages and the floodwater is now moving towards Mirpur Bhattero, Sujawal and Daro.

Reports said that a 20-foot wide breach developed at the MS Thatta embankment, which widened to 120 feet within hours due to the inefficiency of irrigation officials.

“We have warned people of Sujawal, Mirpur Bhattero and DaroÖan approximate population of 400,0000. to leave for safer places in view of possible flooding there,” Hadi Bakhsh Kalhoro, the senior official in Thatta district, said.

DCO Thatta district Manzoor Sheikh said that some 100,000 people were on the move for safety on Thursday.Reports said that if the developed breach could not be plugged, then there were possibilities that Thatta and Jhirk city would be completely inundated.

Also, Shahdadkot city was once again declared as Red Zone and a warning issued to citizens to vacate the city within 12 hours. The breaches in the Kirthar Canal caused flooding in Shahdadkot and its adjacent areas and floodwater was now moving towards Ratodero.

Link: http://thenews.com.pk/27-08-2010/ethenews/t-174.htm

 

 

Calamity-hit status only for villages

Source: Dawn

Date: 27 Aug, 2010

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkwa government has decided to declare villages badly affected by the flash floods as calamity-hit area rather than an entire district.

A senior official told Dawn on Thursday that “the government has decided to extend the facility only to those areas where it is needed”.

According to the official the provincial Revenue and Estate Department has been directed to furnish details of the damaged public and private

properties on the basis of revenue record maintained for each village.

“Once the details are furnished, the government will notify the areas as calamity-hit, a status which can offer waver of certain local taxes as a

relief to the flood affected households,” said the official.

Data collected by the revenue staff would also be used to compensate affected people for the damage caused to their houses by the floods, he said.

Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) had categorised the entire province into three catego-ries keeping in view the magnitude of

damages the floods had caused in the districts.

Severely affected districts included Charsadda, Dera Ismail Khan, Dir Lower, Dir Upper, Nowshera, Peshawar, Shangla, Swat, Tank and Kohistan.

Similarly, the medium affected districts consist of Bannu, Battagram, Chitral, Karak, Kohat, Lakki, Malakand, Mansehra and Swabi. Bunair,

Hangu, Haripur, Mardan and Abbottabad had been included in the least affected category.

For more details: http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/national/calamityhit-status-only-for-villages-780

 

EU calls for steps to avert food crisis

Source: Dawn

Date: 26 Aug, 2010

ISLAMABAD: The European Union indicated on Wednesday it was not bothered about militant groups carrying out relief work in flood-hit areas, but expressed serious concern over a looming food crisis in Pakistan.

 “We have received no feedback from our partners that the militant groups engaged in relief activities were creating any problems by using the disaster for religious extremism,” Kristalina Georgieva, European Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response, said at a press conference here at the conclusion of a two-day visit.

 She said the European Union’s work on humanitarian issues was impartial and the focus was on helping the people in need.
She warned of a food crisis in the country if timely steps were not taken to address the challenges posed to the agriculture sector by the calamity. She pointed out that massive tracts of agricultural land had been submerged and food security and livelihood would be a major challenge in coming months.

View the Link: http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/front-page/eu-calls-for-steps-to-avert-food-crisis-680

 

Floods destroyed 3.5 million houses

Source: Dawn

Date: 25 Aug, 2010

ISLAMABAD: The massive flooding has destroyed about 3.5 million houses in different parts of the country, with monetary losses running into billions of rupees.

Federal Minister for Housing and Works Rehmatullah Kakar said the massive destruction had served to increase the shortage of housing units from 10 million to 13.5 million.

The crisis may deepen because the worst calamity in Pakistan’s history is far from being over. A survey about the recent damages is in progress.
It has also been learnt that the ministry of housing and works is preparing briefing on the damages caused to houses by the continuing floods.

View the Link : http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/national/floods-destroyed-3.5-million-houses,-says-minister-580

 

Global warming major cause of devastating floods

Source: The News

Date: August 24, 2010

Minister for Environment Hameedullah Jan Afridi on Monday said that climate change and global warming are the major causes of devastating floods and forestation process should be increased on war footing to avoid such calamities in future.

While presiding over a meeting regarding Sustainable Land Management (SLM) he said that climate change related events are posing additional pressure on the productivity of the land resources.

He said land degradation and deforestation are severe challenges, which are adversely affecting food security and economic recession in the country that are main causes of the environmental degradation.

The minister said that desertification and land degradation has affected one-third of the earth’s surface threatening the livelihoods, well being and development of as many as one billion people. Nearly one-third of world cropland has become unproductive and has been abandoned in past 40 years. Moreover, almost three quarters of rangelands show various symptoms of desertification.

Afridi said that unsustainable land management practices in the country are main causes of environmental degradation, adding Pakistan is an agricultural country having best irrigation system but there should be a proper management mechanism to utilize it properly.

For more details: http://www.thenews.com.pk/24-08-2010/islamabad/880.htm

 

Water-borne diseases on the rise in flood-affected areas

Source: The News

Date: August 23, 2010

The burden of diseases being reported from the flood-hit areas of Pakistan is constantly escalating. As many as 204,040 cases of acute diarrhoea, 263,356 cases of skin diseases and 204,647 cases of acute respiratory infection have been reported from health facilities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK), Sindh, Punjab and Balochistan, as of August 18. More than 1.5 million patient consultations have been conducted in the flood-affected provinces since onset of the natural disaster, latest data released by the World Health Organisation (WHO) here on Sunday indicates.

The magnitude of the diseases been reported needs to be analysed against the backdrop of the grim reality that only 39% of the US $56.2 million requested to support the health response in Pakistan’s flood-hit areas, has thus far been funded.

According to a province-wise data, in KPK, the daily number of reported acute diarrhoea cases is rising, particularly in Charsadda, Nowshera and Peshawar. Strong water and sanitation interventions, such as provision of clean drinking water supply and addressing environmental hazards, are urgently needed to prevent outbreaks of waterborne diseases in these communities.

As of August 18, as many as 120 health facilities (82 mobile and 38 fixed) in nine flood-affected districts of KPK have reported 15,552 patient consultations, with acute respiratory infections accounting for 17% of the cases (2,653), skin infections 16% (2,521) and acute diarrhoea 15% (2,329). From July 31-August 18, health facilities in KPK have reported 318,032 patient visits.

Link: http://www.thenews.com.pk/23-08-2010/islamabad/646.htm

 

We're looking at 0% GDP growth and 25% inflation

Source: The News

Date: August 23, 2010

ISLAMABAD: According to a highly dismal, but realistic assessment made by the Ministry of Finance, Pakistan’s economy is faced with 0% GDP growth and a galloping inflation of 25% in the financial year 2010-11, it was learnt.

 Prior to the floods devastation, a GDP growth target of 4.5% had been fixed while inflation was to be brought down to 9.5% from the current inflation rate of 12.3%. The report states that the wiping out of the 4.5% GDP growth target translates into a Rs751.5 billion loss to the economy.
An official document, prepared by Economic Advisor’s Wing of Ministry of Finance under supervision of Principal Economic Advisor Sakib Sherani to assess the adverse impact of the ravaging floods, was also presented to top economic wizards led by Minister for Finance Dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh. The report (a copy of which is exclusively available with The News) reveals that the initial first estimate (based on sketchy information to date from the field) on the impact of economic growth in 2010-11 suggests that overall GDP growth could be zero percent in real terms, i.e. a deviation of negative (-4.5%) from the target.

The summary titled “Pakistan Floods 2010: A Preliminary Look at the Macroeconomic Impact” states that the unprecedented scale and magnitude of the devastation caused by the floods is going to leave a very substantial imprint on the economic landscape in the short as well as medium-term.
As the crisis is still continuing, the official document states, assessments are very preliminary and hence subject to further revision. “However, it is clear that the ongoing natural calamity will have a “full spectrum” effect on macroeconomic environment, impacting economic growth, inflation, the fiscal position, balance of payment, employment, incomes and livelihood, and poverty”.

View the link: http://www.thenews.com.pk/23-08-2010/National/673.htm

 

 

Next week crucial

Source: Dawn

Date: 20 Aug, 2010

KARACHI: The next seven days are critical for southern Sindh, particularly the Indus delta, when the second wave of peak flood that is currently passing through Guddu and Sukkur will reach the delta, according to Pakistan Meteorological Department Director General Dr Qamaruz Zaman Chaudhry. He told this correspondent on Thursday that the flood was feared to cause widespread inundation in the southern region of the province.
Dr Zaman said that there would be full moon in a few days and the sea level would remain high. The monsoon is also supplementing the sea level. When the peak flood would reach the sea during that time the river would face a great resistance from the sea which would be pushing the water backwards, upstream in the river. With the floodwater pushing to enter the sea, a clash would overflow the river banks, inundating the nearby low-lying areas, he added.

Link for details: http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/front-page/next-week-crucial-080

 

Sindh the hardest hit province

Source: Dawn

Date: 20 Aug, 2010

ISLAMABAD, Aug 19: As reports of losses from tail-end areas start to pour in, the number of houses damaged and people affected by floods in Sindh has surpassed the figures for other provinces.

The losses in Sindh are still rising.

 Data compiled by the Federal Flood Commission on the basis of reports submitted by provincial governments show that out of the 6.378 million people affected in the country, 2.45 million belong to Sindh, 1.9 million to Punjab, 1.56 million to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 476,845 to Balochistan and 87,000 people to Gilgit-Baltistan.

Of the 10,963 affected villages, 4,295 are located in Sindh, 3,132 in Punjab, 2,584 in Balochistan, 581 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 371 in Gilgit-Baltistan.
The cropped area inundated in Sindh is 1.552 million acres, Punjab 1.471 million acres, Balochistan 630,705 acres, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 466,626 acres, Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) 6,500 acres and Gilgit-Baltistan 9,000 acres. The total cropped areas damaged countrywide is 4.135 million acres.

For more information please click on the web: http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/front-page/sindh-the-hardest-hit-province-080

 

Top 10 natural disasters since 1935 in Pakistan

According to the National Disaster Management Authority, the current floods in Pakistan constitute the worst natural disaster in the country’s history.

The top 10 natural disasters in Pakistan in the last 75 years are:

1935 Quetta earthquake: A 7.7 Richter scale earthquake virtually leveled the city of Quetta in the eastern province of Balochistan, then part of British India.

Some 60,000 people were killed in one of the deadliest earthquakes to hit South Asia. The epicenter was 4km southwest of the town of Ali Jaan, some 153km from Quetta.

1945 Balochistan earthquake: A 7.8 Richter scale earthquake hit southwestern Balochistan on 28 November 1945. The epicenter was 98km southwest of the town of Pasni. Apart from massive damage to property, the quake led to a 40-foot tsunami causing the deaths of over 4,000 people.

For more details : http://www.aaj.tv/2010/08/top-10-natural-disasters-since-1935-in-pakistan/

 

 

Over 4 million homeless: UN

Source: Dawn

Date: 20 Aug, 2010

ISLAMABAD, Aug 19: More than four million Pakistanis have been made homeless by nearly three weeks of floods, the United Nations said on Thursday, making the critical task of securing greater amounts of aid more urgent.
The UN had earlier said that two million people had lost their homes in the worst floods in Pakistan’s history.

Link: http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/national/over-4-million-homeless-un-080

 

3.5m children at risk of deadly diseases: UN

Source: Express Tribune

Date: 17 Aug, 2010

ISLAMABAD: Up to 3.5 million children are at high risk from deadly water-borne diseases as a result of the devastating floods, a UN spokesman said Monday.

Maurizio Giuliano, spokesman for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said the World Health Organisation (WHO) was also preparing to assist tens of thousands of people in case of Cholera.

“WHO is preparing to assist up to 140,000 people in case there is any Cholera, but the government has not notified us of any confirmed case,” the spokesman told AFP.

Typhoid, hepatitis A and E are also concerns, he said.

“What concerns us the most is water and health. Clean water is essential to prevent deadly water-borne diseases. Water during the flood has been contaminated badly. There is a shortage of clean water,” he added.

OCHA said it feared that Pakistan was on the brink of a “second wave of death” unless more donor funds materialise.

“The mortality caused by the incidence of these diseases is increasing. We don’t have figures at this moment, but WHO is working round the clock in support for the government to come up with numbers,” said Giuliano.

View the link for more details: http://tribune.com.pk/story/39871/3-5m-children-at-risk-of-deadly-diseases-un/

 

 

Home-based workers denied benefits

Source: Dawn

Date: Aug 15, 2010

LAHORE, Aug 15: Home based workers lack identity, which deprive them of benefits of labour laws while the Punjab Labour and Human Resource Department, which is responsible for identifying and compiling data on such workers, has not enough resources to take on the project, Dawn has learnt.

Under the law, the department register workers and trade unions or federations, settle compensation claims and non-payment of wages and others related jobs to workers’ welfare.

“The department has no interest to identify or register home based workers, as it doesn’t recognise them formal workers,” said Hanif Ramay, secretary-general of the Muttahida Labour Federation.

“If the department recognises them formal workers, it will have to ensure benefits like social security, and employees old age benefits liable to be paid by employers under labour laws to home based workers,” he told Dawn.

The article-1 of the International Labour Organization’s (ILOs) Convention-C177-1996, states the term ‘Home Work’ means work carried out by a person, to be referred to as a home worker in his or her home or in other premises of his or her choice other than the workplace of the employer for remuneration.

For more details: http://epaper.dawn.com/ArticleText.aspx?article=16_08_2010_003_003

 

Children's Hospital faces shortage of 100 doctors

Source: Dawn

Date: 13 Aug, 2010

LAHORE, Aug 12: Children Hospital patients have been suffering a lot due to shortage of around 100 doctors in the facility, including senior pediatricians, surgeons and anesthetics for long, sources told Dawn.

At present there are 38 different specialties related to medical, surgical and diagnostic fields in the hospital.

Sources said eight seats of associate professors, 34 of assistant professors, 44 of senior registrars, and three posts of demonstrators were lying vacant in the hospital, badly affecting the quality of healthcare services being provided to the patients at the facility.

Highlighting gravity of the situation, the sources said some senior doctors of the hospital had gone abroad for better salaries, while a few others had got themselves transferred to other hospitals to avoid immense workload.

Giving details, sources said, out of total eight seats of associate professors, two each are lying vacant in the physical medicine and rehabilitation and paeds medicine departments, and one each in pediatric cardiology, paeds anesthesiology, paeds neurology and immunology departments.

For details: http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/national/childrens-hospital-faces-shortage-of-100-doctors-380

 

First major step towards legislation against burn crimes

Source: The News

Date: August 12, 2010

Bill titled ‘Acid Control and Burn Crime Prevention Act 2010’ presented to the ministry

As a first major step towards legislation against burn crimes, the bill titled ‘Acid Control and Burn Crime Prevention Act 2010’ was presented to the Ministry of Women Development (MoWD) here on Wednesday.

Prepared by Acid Survivors Foundation (ASF) after thorough consultation at federal and provincial level, the bill is drafted on the directives of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry. The chief justice addressed the phenomenon of acid violence in a sue moto action taken in the case of acid survivor Naila Farhat. The sue moto action was taken on a story published in ‘The News’.

The chief justice observed that the government should legislate the Acid Crime Prevention Act, which should specifically deal with acid attack cases in terms of prevention and punishment, and the Acid Control Act, to regulate the sale and purchase of acid as done by Bangladesh in 2002. Furthermore, he also directed the government to provide free medical treatment to acid burn victims and help them in terms of provision of legal aid and rehabilitation facilities.

The proposed act recommends that if acid attack or burn attack has resulted in the death of any person, the culprit should be punished with death and in any other case the offender will be liable to imprisonment and fines in the light of the extent and severity of injuries.

The act also suggests imprisonment for not less than 14 years which may extend to life imprisonment given the presence of severity or brutality unless the injuries are impermanent and minor. In case no injury occurred as a result of an attack, the legislation suggests seven years imprisonment and liable fine for attempt to commit an offence of acid attack.

View the link for more information: http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=256110

 

 

 

UN appeals for $460m to help Pakistan

Source: Dawn

Date: 12 Aug, 2010

UNITED NATIONS, Aug 11: The United Nations aid agencies and their partners have asked for about $460 million to help Pakistan assist millions of people affected by floods that have cut a swathe through the country, killing hundreds of people and destroying homes, farmland and major infrastructure.

“We have a huge task in front of us to deliver all that is required as soon as possible,” said John Holmes, UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, at the launch of the humanitarian response plan at the UN Headquarters in New York.

“The death toll has so far been relatively low compared to other major natural disasters, but the numbers of affected are extraordinarily high. If we don’t act fast enough, many more people could die of diseases and food shortages,” added Mr Holmes, who is also the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs.

Shelter is an urgent priority and $105 million of the $459.7 million sought is required to provide tents or plastic sheeting, as well as basic household goods, for an initial target of more than 2 million people, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

For details: http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/front-page/un-appeals-for-$460m-to-help-pakistan-280

 

 

Family ate leaves to survive

Source: Dawn

Date: Aug 10, 2010

BHAKKAR, Aug 10: Finally, it was left to Mother Nature to save the lives of Shamsher Sial and his three children. They remained perched on a tree for two days after flash floods hit their village last week.

Once they survived the deluge, their main challenge was to find food for themselves and their 50odd close relatives who had been marooned at the Bhakkar bund, some 30km from this town.

No relief goods had reached them by the evening of Aug 9, a week after the torrents had forced them out of their homes.

“We spent the whole of last Wednesday and Thursday on a charpoy we had placed on the branches of a tree,” Shamsher told Dawn, “Some of my relatives did the same to save their lives. During the two days, we ate leaves to survive. It was only after the water had receded that we were able to climb down and proceed to the embankment.” Two of Shamsher’s cows beat him to the finish line.The cows somehow managed to float through to the embankment from his village Noor Ki Basti, literally meaning the abode of light.

For more details: http://epaper.dawn.com/ArticleText.aspx?article=11_08_2010_012_005

 

 

Floods inflict colossal losses on economy

Source: Dawn

Date: 11 Aug, 2010

KARACHI, Aug 10: Catastrophic floods mean that Pakistan will miss the 4.5 per cent gross domestic product (GDP) growth target this year though it is not yet clear by how much, a finance ministry official said on Tuesday.

 The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Monday the floods, the worst in 80 years, will cause major economic harm as donor and investor concerns grow over the disaster’s impact on an already fragile economy.

“It is too early to say the extent of damage and loss of crops. But yes, it is a major catastrophe and it will have a negative impact on economic growth,” said Finance Ministry spokesman Asif Bajwa.

The government said it was assessing the damage but it would be substantial, especially in the agriculture sector which accounts for more than 21 per cent of GDP and employs 45 per cent of the labour force.

 An economic growth target of 4.5 per cent in the 2010/11 (July-June) fiscal year would have to be revised downwards once the extent of the damage was known, he said. Growth was 4.1 per cent last year.

Pakistan and IMF officials are due to meet on Aug 23 to discuss a sixth tranche of the loan and Mr Bajwa said the IMF could provide more fiscal space in light of the floods.—Reuters

Amin Ahmed adds from Islamabad: The floods in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Sindh have extensively damaged the rice and cotton crops.

For details: http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/national/floods-inflict-colossal-losses-on-economy-180

 

Blame game is on in the face of misery

Source: Dawn

Date: Aug 11, 2010

ISLAMABAD, Aug 10: With worst ever floods in Pakistan’s history wreaking havoc across the country, some of the government agencies are engaged in an internal blame game about the warning mechanism and flood management, suggesting that human leniency might have contributed to the catastrophe.

Informed sources told Dawn that officials of some government agencies were seen passing on to each other the blame for slow response to emerging floods at a recent meeting held at the Prime Minister’s Secretariat. The meeting was informed about heavy material damage to defence facilities and reserves in Nowshera (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) as a result of inundation and flooding...

For details view the link:  http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/front-page/19-blame-game-is-on-in-the-face-of-misery-180-hh-14 <http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/front-page/19-blame-game-is-on-in-the-face-of-misery-180-hh-14> 

 

Pakistan floods, Russia's heat wave match climate trends

Source: Dawn

Date: 10-08-2010

OSLO: Devastating floods in Pakistan and Russia’s heat wave match projected trends of ever more extremes caused by global warming even though it is impossible to blame mankind for single severe weather events, scientists said.

This year is on track to be the warmest since reliable temperature records began in the mid-19th century, beating 1998, mainly due to a build-up of greenhouse gases from fossil fuels, according to the UN’s World Meteorological Organisation (WMO).

“We will always have climate extremes. But it looks like climate change is exacerbating the intensity of the extremes,” said Omar Baddour, chief of climate data management applications at WMO head quarters in Geneva.

“It is too early to point to a human fingerprint” behind individual weather events, he said. Recent extremes include mudslides in China or temperature heat records from Finland to Kuwait.

Reinsurer Munich Re said a natural catastrophe database it runs “shows that the number of extreme weather events like windstorm and floods has tripled since 1980, and the trend is expected to persist”.

The worst floods in Pakistan in 80 years have killed more than 1,600 people and left two million homeless.

“Global warming is one reason” for the rare spate of recent weather extremes, said Friedrich-Wilhelm Gerstengarbe, a professor at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research.

For more information please visit website: http://epaper.dawn.com/ArticleText.aspx?article=10_08_2010_010_002

 

Foreign aid mostly given to UN agencies

Source: Dawn

Date: Aug 8, 2010

ISLAMABAD, Aug 8: The international response to the worst flooding in Pakistan’s history has highlighted world community’s lack of confidence in the government’s ability to carry out speedy and effective relief and rehabilitation work.

As of Saturday, the contributions and commitments made by different countries totalled $29.7 million, of which only $2.5 million was in bilateral assistance. Most of the donors prefer to provide aid through UN agencies and humanitarian organisations, indicating a lack of trust in the government.

Another $59.6 million is also plan ned to be channelled through such organisations.

Talking to Dawn, an official coordinating the international assistance conceded that donors had reservations over the capacity and efficiency of the government’s disaster management system.

Besides, he said, the donors had their own preferences regarding fund disbursement.

“The donor community and humanitarian agencies need to channel their efforts in a more coordinated manner through the government’s newly established network of disaster management organisations,” said an expert and former UN official, Zafar Iqbal.

View the link: http://epaper.dawn.com/ArticleText.aspx?article=09_08_2010_005_009

 

 

Debt servicing claims $5.6bn

Source: Dawn

Date: Aug 6, 2010

KARACHI, Aug 6: Pakistan paid a staggering $5.6 billion as debt servicing during the last fiscal ended on June 30, which was 43 per cent of the official foreign exchange reserves of the country.

The State Bank reported on Friday that the country paid $4.632 billion as principal amount while $1.007 billion was paid as interest on the entire foreign debt and liabilities.

This massive payment was possible mainly because of continued higher inflows from IMF, overseas Pakistanis, US aid and loans from other donor agencies.

Analysts said the increasing debt servicing has the potential to put the country once again in trouble while the only thing that may correct the situation was the effort to maintain and increase the foreign inflows.

The foreign debt of the country sharply rose during the last fiscal as the government borrowed from international donors to remain liquid for such huge payments while it has been facing current account deficits for years.

The foreign debt increased by $3.295 billion to $55.628 bil lion during the last fiscal. It included $8.077 billion IMF loan mostly received as the emergency loans to avoid default.

The foreign exchange liabilities of the country noted slight decline as it reached $1.122 billion from $1.274 billion a year ago.

For more information: http://epaper.dawn.com/ArticleText.aspx?article=07_08_2010_017_013

 

87pc drinking water samples found unsafe nationwide

Source: Dawn

Date: Aug 6, 2010

ISLAMABAD, Aug 6: A premier research organisation on water quality status on Friday said out of a total of 357 samples tested under the nationwide water quality monitoring programme, 87 per cent samples were found unsafe for human consumption. Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR) found 68 per cent bacteriological, 24 per cent arsenic, 13 per cent nitrate and five per cent fluoride contaminations that made water “unsafe” for drinking.

Spread over five years, statistics were briefly shared at a workshop on ‘Development of Way Forward for Drinking Water Quality Monitoring and Improvement’ where the speakers only had bad news for the participants.

The speakers said more than five million acre-feet of industrial and domestic wastewater produced each year was directly discharged into freshwater bodies. With more than 200,000 child deaths every year because of diarrhoea, Pakistan has one of the highest infant mortality rates. Out of 134 districts in Pakistan, 81 were deprived of water testing facilities.

View the link for details: http://epaper.dawn.com/ArticleText.aspx?article=07_08_2010_153_008

 

 

Karachiites

Source: The News

Date: August 06, 2010

Erum is a young mother. Both her children go to a government primary school and her husband is chronically sick with some chest ailment. She moved to Karachi after some Christian families like hers were threatened by a group of youth in their native village in Punjab. Erum now lives in a squatter-like settlement of Essa Nagri. Minni comes from an old Sindhi village on the outskirts of Karachi. She lives with her daughter, a single parent, four grandchildren and a son who works as a cleaner at a truck station. Minni lives just by the Lyari River in a squatter between Gharibabad and Gulshan-e-Iqbal. My mother asked her once why she was called Minni and what her real name was. She told her that women were sometimes not named in her family. Minni's mother was also called Minni and so was her grandmother. But now she has named her daughter Fehmida and her granddaughters have different names also.

 Rabia is another woman whose family comes from a village outside Multan. She is the lone bread-earner and supports a family of seven. She lives near old Sabzi Mandi, of course in a squatter. Rabia's friend Nafeesa comes from Orangi Town. She was ten-year-old at the time of the fall of Dhaka. Her Bihari parents were shipped to Karachi. Her husband is a cleaner and sweeper at a few shops on M A Jinnah Road which sell auto parts.

View the link: http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=255073

 

Food shortage may spark violence in Pakistan: report

Source: Dawn

Date: 05 Aug, 2010

WASHINGTON: About 77 million people go hungry in Pakistan while 36 per cent of the population are afflicted by poverty, says a new report released on Wednesday.

“From small farmers to the urban masses and internally displaced persons, millions of Pakistanis are affected by the scourge of food insecurity,” warns the report by the Woodrow Wilson International Centre for Scholars, Washington.

 The report notes that while the global food crisis subsisted in 2009, Pakistan continues to suffer from an acute food shortage.
The report — “Hunger Pains: Pakistan’s Food Insecurity” — warns that the food shortage may lead to widespread violence if immediate steps are not taken to feed the hungry.

Quoting figures provided by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, the report notes that in February 2010, the prices of wheat and rice — Pakistan’s two chief staple crops — were 30 to 50 per cent higher than before the global food crisis, and were on the increase.

View the link for details: http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/front-page/19-foodshortage-may-spark-violence-in-pakistan-report-580-hh-07

 

 

 

Poor security led to murder of Emanuels'

Source: Dawn

Date: Aug 3, 2010

FAISALABAD, Aug 3: Police’s failure to make a security plan for blasphemy suspects Sajid Emanuel and Rashid Emanuel led to their killing in a broad daylight in district courts, documents made available to Dawn read.

Documents reveal that police officials, including Regional Police Officer (RPO) Aftab Ahmed Cheema and investigation officer Muhammad Husain, knew that both suspects, also brothers, could be targeted by extremists because of the sensitivity of the issue. All secrete agencies had also asked the police to make foolproof security arrangements for them, but to no avail.

The police had arrested Sajid and Rashid for distributing handwritten ‘blasphemous” material early in July. In spite of strict warnings from agencies, the police failed to protect them and they were gunned down by unidentified people on July 19 on the district courts premises in the presence of armed policemen.

he documents say on July 12, a meeting of the district intelligence committee also took place at the commissioner office to discuss the two brothers’ security issue.

Subsequently, the RPO convened a meeting of his subordinates on July 13 to discuss the law and order situation in the wake of the blasphemy issue to avoid widespread violence.

For details: http://epaper.dawn.com/ArticleText.aspx?article=04_08_2010_009_001

 

 

Barrages in Sindh face record Indus surge

Source: Dawn

Date: 04 Aug, 2010

ISLAMABAD: Two major barrages in Sindh, Guddu and Sukkur, are expected to receive massive water flows, more than their capacity, and may need their embankments to be breached by authorities to minimise losses in the downstream region.

Informed sources told Dawn on Tuesday that Guddu barrage — to be hit by exceptionally high floods on Wednesday — was designed for 1.2 million cusecs but its capacity had declined because of silting. They said the authorities expected about 1.05 million cusecs of water on Wednesday.

Likewise, the Sukkur barrage was designed in the mid-40s for 1.5 million cusecs but some of its gates were blocked during subsequent repairs. They said some parts of its structure would need to be breached to minimise damage.

In the process, however, some nearby villages could be submerged and hence population needed to be moved out. They said armed forces units had been asked to take precautionary measures.

The heavy floods would reach Sukkur barrage after four to five days.

 Meanwhile, the federal flood commission said on Tuesday that the Indus was flowing in ‘very high flood’ in the Chashma-Taunsa reach and in ‘high flood’ with falling trend at Kalabagh. It was also in low flood with rising trend at Guddu and in low flood with falling trend at Tarbela.

For more details: http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/front-page/19-barrages-in-sindh-face-record-indus-surge-480-hh-07

 

RE: Health experts fear outbreak of diseases

Source: The News

Date: August 03, 2010

PESHAWAR: Health experts on Monday feared outbreak of food and water-borne diseases in the flood-affected areas and called for urgent remedial measures.

The tertiary care hospitals in Peshawar including Lady Reading Hospital (LRH), Khyber Teaching Hospital (KTH) and Hayatabad Medical Complex (HMC) have started receiving patients from the flood-affected areas of Peshawar, Charsadda and Nowshera districts.

The doctors of the three hospitals feared patients’ burden on the teaching hospitals would increase after floodwater receded and roads in the affected districts of the province reopened. The experts said food and water-borne diseases could particularly cause pandemics in the flood-devastated areas as drinking water there was contaminated, making it unsafe for human consumption.

A noted gastroenterologist, Prof Dr Ijaz Mohammad Khan, who is head of Gastroenterology Department at the HMC in Peshawar, told The News that besides water-borne diseases, the flood-affected people were vulnerable to other ailments such as diarrhea, cholera, fever and skin diseases. Dr Ijaz feared that Hepatitis A and E could also spread in the flood-hit areas.

He said pregnant women usually suffered from Hepatitis A in the flood-affected areas. He said situation for pregnant women could become unfavourable in the affected districts. Dr Ijaz Mohammad said the flood victims should use boiled water, hastening to add that it would be a bit difficult for the affected population.

For more information please view the link: http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=254459

 

Health experts fear outbreak of diseases

Source: Dawn

Date: August 03, 2010

PESHAWAR: Health experts on Monday feared outbreak of food and water-borne diseases in the flood-affected areas and called for urgent remedial measures.

The tertiary care hospitals in Peshawar including Lady Reading Hospital (LRH), Khyber Teaching Hospital (KTH) and Hayatabad Medical Complex (HMC) have started receiving patients from the flood-affected areas of Peshawar, Charsadda and Nowshera districts.

The doctors of the three hospitals feared patients’ burden on the teaching hospitals would increase after floodwater receded and roads in the affected districts of the province reopened. The experts said food and water-borne diseases could particularly cause pandemics in the flood-devastated areas as drinking water there was contaminated, making it unsafe for human consumption.

A noted gastroenterologist, Prof Dr Ijaz Mohammad Khan, who is head of Gastroenterology Department at the HMC in Peshawar, told The News that besides water-borne diseases, the flood-affected people were vulnerable to other ailments such as diarrhea, cholera, fever and skin diseases. Dr Ijaz feared that Hepatitis A and E could also spread in the flood-hit areas.

He said pregnant women usually suffered from Hepatitis A in the flood-affected areas. He said situation for pregnant women could become unfavourable in the affected districts. Dr Ijaz Mohammad said the flood victims should use boiled water, hastening to add that it would be a bit difficult for the affected population.

For more information please view the link: http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=254459

 

Rivers breach century-old record

Source: Dawn

Date: Aug 1, 2010

ISLAMABAD, Aug 1: An almost 110year-old record of river flow was broken when 1.034 million cusecs of water passed the Chashma barrage on Sunday afternoon.

The flood has played havoc with lives and property in upstream Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab.

An irrigation expert told Dawn that the highest flow recorded previously at the point was in 1901 when it reached about 900,000 cusecs. A large part of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had been affected at that time as well. The authorities do not have any dependable data for years before 1901.

“The biggest-ever flood in Pakistan’s history was recorded at about 4pm on Sunday when 1,034,000 cusecs crossed Chashma,” an official said. The flows then started to recede and fell to 967,000 cusecs by 8pm.

In 1976, the flows at Chashma had touched 750,000 cusecs.

The country’s highest flood-related human loss was 1,008 deaths recorded in 1992. Most of the losses were caused by the Jhelum and Chenab rivers in Azad Kashmir and Punjab.

“The loss of lives this season might have already breached the 1992 level,” an official said, referring to statements by different sources.

The official said the authorities in Sindh had been warned of an extraordinarily dangerous situation in areas adjoining Sukkur and Guddu barrages and their catchments, commonly known as the katcha region, because of rising flows.

He said the provincial government had been asked to remove people from the katcha areas of Sukkur and Guddu to avoid any “big loss”.

He said the Guddu barrage was currently in low flood with 255,000 cusecs and would experience medium flood on Monday with up to 400,000 cusecs.

View the link: http://epaper.dawn.com/ArticleText.aspx?article=02_08_2010_001_009