Swamped, bruised and resentful

Terrifying monsoon floods add to a sea of other woes in Pakistan—and intensify pressure on the president


The Economist
Aug 5th 2010 | Charsadda

PRESIDENT ASIF ZARDARI may yet regret sticking to a European jaunt this week, just as his countrymen struggled to cope with the worst flooding in Pakistan’s history. As the heaviest monsoon rain in decades swept away the houses of over 140,000 people, killing an estimated 1,500 and affecting over 3m, Mr Zardari was pictured swanning about in sunny France, taking a helicopter trip to his 16th-century chateau in Normandy, and promoting the fledgling political career of his son. In the process he took time to admonish Britain’s new government for daring to point out that elements in Pakistan export terrorism and to scold the West for losing “hearts and minds” in its war in Afghanistan.

Back home, the Pakistani government is fast losing the hearts and minds of many of its own people. In places anger is intense over an inadequate response to the disaster. Neighbours and relief charities, including some with links to Islamic extremists, appear to be doing a better job of helping victims than the national authorities, at least in some blighted areas.

The worst of the flooding, which began late last week, is in the North-West Frontier Province (newly named Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), including the Swat valley, the region that has suffered most from terrorism and the domestic Taliban insurgency. Last year some 2m people were displaced from Swat as a military offensive drove the Pakistani Taliban out of the scenic valley.

Although the scale of the flooding and needs of the victims would have overwhelmed any government, the provincial and national authorities have largely been in a state of paralysis. The prime minister, Yousaf Raza Gilani, who had previously been almost absent, urged his ministers on August 4th to speed up relief efforts. Some 50,000 troops have been deployed, and thousands of stranded people plucked by army helicopters from their rooftops. But the normally well-organised armed forces have not managed to do much beyond rescue and evacuation.

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