Pakistan Security Brief - August 11, 2010

Pakistan Security Brief – August 11, 2010

Pakistan issues flood warnings for Punjab and Sindh; Oxfam reports that governments committing much less to flood relief than previous disasters; U.N. warns militant groups might take advantage of humanitarian crisis; TTP calls on Pakistan’s government to reject foreign assistance; U.S. pledges additional $20 million in flood relief funds; Pakistan’s Foreign Minister calls on China to step up relief efforts; Australian Prime Minister provides two C-17 Globemaster aircraft for flood relief.

Floods

• Pakistan issued new flood warnings on Wednesday, putting parts of Punjab and Sindh on alert and appealing to the international community to increase aid to contain the humanitarian disaster. The meteorological service warned of floods in Hyderabad, which could spread further south into Sindh, and issued a “significant” flood forecast for Kalabagh and Chashma in Punjab. Governments in both provinces, considered the breadbasket of Pakistan, warned of more flooding in the days ahead. On Tuesday, Chief of Army Staff, Gen. Ashfaq Kayani, visited affected areas of Balochistan, Sindh, and Punjab to assess the situation on the ground. Gen. Kayani was briefed by local military commanders about the progress of rescue and relief efforts.[1]

• The U.N. appealed on Wednesday for $459 million in flood relief aid for Pakistan, warning that hunger and illness in the coming weeks could worsen the humanitarian crisis. Meanwhile, Oxfam said that the U.N.’s tracking systems show that as of August 9th, governments had committed considerably less aid than was collected for similar disaster relief efforts in the past. Neva Khan, Oxfam’s director in Pakistan, said, "The rains are continuing and [with] each hour that passes the flooding is multiplying misery across the entire country. This is a mega disaster and it needs a mega response." Only the U.S., Britain, Australia, Italy, and Kuwait have committed or pledged more than $5 million.[2]

• The devastation from flooding in Pakistan has generated renewed debate about a controversial dam project that some believe could have helped lessen the impact of the disaster. Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said that the government would reevaluate plans to build a dam on the Indus River in Kalabagh, Punjab. The project has been debated for nearly four decades. Proponents of the project say the dam would reduce flooding and provide a sustainable source of water during the dry season."The present destruction and calamity could have been prevented," said Shams-ul Mulk, a former chief of Pakistan's Water and Power Development Authority. "If the Kalabagh dam had been built, this flood could have been tamed in the reservoir.".[3]

• Pakistan’s government will waive farm loans in a bid stabilize food prices ahead of Ramadan. The government is due to announce a comprehensive reconstruction package once it finishes surveying the damage, the Associated Press of Pakistan reported on Wednesday.  Since the start of the flooding, which has damaged or destroyed at least 1.4 million acres of farmland, food prices on basic items have in some cases quadrupled. According to an official in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, maize, rice, sugarcane, and vegetable crops were most affected. The U.N. estimates that at least 4 million people will need food assistance for the next three months at a cost of approximately $100 million. [4]

Extremists and the Flood

• The U.N. warned on Wednesday that militants could take advantage of Pakistan’s humanitarian crisis by operating among its displaced victims. “We all hope that militants will not take advantage of the circumstances to score points by exploiting people driven from their homes by the floods,” Jean-Maurice Ripert, the U.N. aid envoy for Pakistan, told Le Monde. These comments came in response to a question about reports that some local aid groups working in the affected areas had ties to militant groups.[5]

• The Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) on Tuesday called on the government not to accept any U.S. assistance for flood victims. TTP spokesperson, Azam Tariq, said that the TTP would fund relief efforts if the government stopped accepting foreign assistance. “The government should not accept American aid and if it happens, we can give 20 million dollars to them as aid for the flood victims… We will ourselves distribute relief under leadership of our chief Hakimullah Mehsud if the government assures us that none of our members will be arrested,” Tariq told the Associated Foreign Press..[6]

International Responses to the Floods

• The U.S. on Tuesday pledged an additional $20 million in flood relief, bringing its total contribution to date to $55 million. “This disaster is so vast … and as we get better insight into the scope, our contribution may well grow as well,” U.S. Deputy Special Envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan Daniel Feldman said during a press briefing at the State Department. Mr. Feldman noted that since weather conditions in Pakistan improved on Tuesday, U.S. helicopters were able to distribute approximately 100,000 lbs of humanitarian supplies and rescue at least 700 people stranded in remote areas. The Director of USAID’s Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance, Mark Ward, said that rain and poor visibility are hampering relief efforts in the hardest hit areas. The Associated Press reported on Wednesday that U.S. assistance is already helping to improve the image of the U.S. and has given Washington an opportunity to strengthen a sometimes “troubled” relationship with Pakistan[7]

• Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Wednesday called on China to step up relief efforts. Speaking to the Chinese Ambassador, Luo Zhaohui, in Islamabad, Qureshi thanked China for its ongoing flood relief efforts, but said that more needed to be done. The Chinese Ambassador reassured Qureshi that China would allocate all available resources to relief efforts and handed over to Qureshi $17,500 (Rs. 1,500,000) collected from Chinese businessmen.[8]

• The Australian Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, on Wednesday committed two military planes to assist relief efforts in Pakistan, saying that Australians wanted to help those affected by the devastating floods. The two C-17 Globemaster aircraft, which will deliver humanitarian relief, are in addition to the $9 million in relief aid Australia has already pledged.  “As Pakistan's needs become clearer, Australia will consider what further assistance to provide,” P.M. Gillard told the AFP.[9]

• The European Commission released 10 million euros in flood relief aid on Wednesday to Pakistan, bringing the total humanitarian aid in the past 12 months to more than 110 million euros. The E.U. decision “takes immediate effect and comes as an addition to the 30 million euros for humanitarian assistance allocated” on July 30, said a statement from the E.U.’s executive. The aid will go towards water treatment units, shelter, food, blankets, medical equipment, and hygiene kits. “My heartfelt condolences go to all those affected by this crisis and the European Union stands ready to support Pakistan both in financial and political terms in dealing with the consequences of this terrible event,” said Catherine Ashton, E.U. Foreign Affairs chief.[10]

Balochistan

• A former district leader of the Balochistan National Party (BNP), Attaullah Baloch, was killed in Khuzdar, 300 kilometers from Quetta, on Tuesday. Sources said Baloch was killed on Munir Mengal Road by gunmen riding on a motorcycle. BNP supporters protested the killing in the streets of Khuzdar.[11]

• On Tuesday, hundreds of flood victims protested the government’s inadequate relief efforts and slow response in Dera Murad Jamali and Loralai. The demonstrators blocked the National Highway and threw stones at police officers monitoring the protest. In Harnai, flood survivors surrounded the Deputy Provincial Commissioner’s office. Meanwhile, Chief Minister, Nawab Aslam Raisani appealed to the federal government and aid agencies for further assistance. “A large area of the province has been devastated by floods and it is beyond the capacity of the provincial government to rehabilitate the affected people,” Raisani said in a press statement.[12]

Karachi

• In a bid to control violence in Karachi, Interior Minister Rehman Malik on Tuesday proposed a measure making the possession of illegal weapons punishable by 10-years in prison.  “In this connection, the home department has proposed to make an amendment to the law and extend the punishment from three years to ten years for the possession of illegal weapons. Legislation will be made very soon and the offense will be declared as non-bailable,” sources said.[13]

• Two people were killed in separate cases of targeted killings on Tuesday, bringing the death toll in the recent violence to 104. A Shia businessman was killed in Hayat Chamber by gunmen riding on a motorcycle and a factory owner was shot dead in Nazimabad No. 4.[14]