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Recent floods in Pakistan proves that whole world is sick of Pakistan

August 17, 2010

As the headline says recent floods in Pakistan have proved that whole world is sick of them and want Pakistan to suffer then helping the poor and destroyed by flood people in Pakistan.

With money hungry leaders, government, army and other Muslim countries keeping quiet when it comes to donation and helping their own brothers and sisters.

It seems like every one now know that what the Pakistan government is going to do with all the aid money and funds…….Build more bombs and breed more terrorists and terror around the world and against India.

Below are the comments from the people around the globe about the situation:

No wonder no-one wants to know when Pakistan turns a blind eye to the terrorism emanating from the country

– Mullarkian, York, 17/8/2010 14:37

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Very sad. But 1/ this country’s leaders are some of the most corrupt around and they have squandered millions instead of helping their own people. 2/ Where are the Muslim countries when their own need help. Hmm very quiet. But why has this government never learnt from the past? Sorry but I have limited sympathy for Pakistan, they fate is in their own hands. Rains are nothing new. Maybe their government should be focussing on the important things in their country and forget the Bomb!!

– George, Shanghai, 17/8/2010 14:21

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perhaps the international population are reluctant to donate money to a country that breeds and harbours terrorists. it is about time that Politicians in the west stop financing and appeasing countries who do not give a care about non-muslims. Tell them to stop financing nuclear bombs and use the money instead to build a better environment for themselves without the help of suckers in the UK and US

– not a racist, stirlingshire, 17/8/2010 14:19

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Oh dear. Use some of the money being used for the phoney war in Afghanistan and bring all our soldiers home. Red arrows folks!

– Union Jack, Staffs, 17/8/2010 14:17

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It is a calamity. But the problem is that Pakistani leadership always seem not to be able to talk without the begging bowl out. This happened during the Musharaf years, as well as with the current government.

As other viewers have asked – where is the BILLIONS in aid being given going? They seem to have enough money to build and upgrade their nukes, how come they do not have the resources to provide aid and shelter to heir own kith and kin?

– sapper, Ridgefield, CT, USA, 17/8/2010 14:07

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I wonder to what extent overseas generosity is affected by the uncertainty whether money, or in kind aid, will end up in the pockets of corrupt politicians and powerful land owners. Transparency International does, after all rate Pakistan as one of the most corrupt countries on the planet

– mel, Not in the UK, 17/8/2010 14:04

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Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1303787/Pakistan-floods-Nick-Clegg-describes-international-response-absolutely-pitiful.html#ixzz0wu0cuGHi

Annie Kate August 2nd, 2010 3:53 pm ET
The pictures of the Pakistan flood are a tremendous witness to the suffering resulting from this act of nature. Another country that is also suffering but from record heat and the fires it has created in the forests and the peat bogs as well as killing a substantial portion of their wheat crop is Russia. It seems that this year nature has been particularly hard on the residents of its planet from earthquakes to wildfires to flooding to hurricanes, etc. Thank you for showing the pictures from Pakistan.
me August 2nd, 2010 4:12 pm ET
Speechless,smthing really has to give with the climatic changes affecting the earth as a result of our destructive;all consumin nature.We mustn’t b cavaliar bout the butterfly.I feel 4 the families out in z cold.
Soni August 2nd, 2010 4:34 pm ET
Such a sad news. Hope relief agencies reach their on time.
Yasir Imran August 2nd, 2010 4:56 pm ET
It was very sad, International community should donate funds to help the victims.
Muriel August 2nd, 2010 7:13 pm ET
This is happing all over the world now. We had it in the United States 6 years ago, now the other portion of the world is getting it. Good report Anderson as always.
rachel berndt August 5th, 2010 12:01 am ET
I am seriously praying for Pakistan.
Pakistan: the only Holy God of Israel LOVES you.
We are praying for you in God’s Holy Power and Love.

http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2010/08/02/gallery-pakistan-floods-kill-over-1000/

Anon:

Simpler way, Pakistan cuts back on the corruption, stealing, and money to the Taliban and diverts it for a couple weeks to helping their own citizens.

Posted by Anon | August 12, 2010 5:21 AM

Jason Thomas:

Sorry but didnt the US just authorise USD7.5b to Pakistan over the next five years? This is on top of the USD10b that was given to Pakistan during the Bush Administration.

Posted by Jason Thomas | August 12, 2010 6:30 AM

Anon part 2:

nice comments guys.. really… lets stop to think for a second that it was the U.S that forced pakistan to help them with this b.s “war on terror” aka as war supported by the brain washed people who do not know what their country is really fighting for. since pakistan is helping the u.s by assigning troops to the norther part of pakistan to fight the taliban, the people of pakistan do no trust their government and now pakistan has more than 30 terrorist groups. So it is definetely up to you the u.s to help out pakistan because they need pakistan to be one of their many puppet countries. How about we all blame our problems on “terrorist and taliban”

Posted by Anon part 2 | August 13, 2010 4:09 PM

anon part 4:

money does not seem to work to make pakistan to be a puppet. money cannot even make pakistan stop supporting jihadi group that are attacking us. so go figure

Posted by anon part 4 | August 16, 2010 6:34 PM

http://smallwarsjournal.com/blog/2010/08/pakistan-floods-how-to-help/
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    homohumanitarian homohumanitarian

    2 Aug 2010, 12:33PM

    Is it the same country that brags about being “the only nuclear-weapons power in the Muslim world” and wants to liberate Kashmir and turn it into another province of the Islamic Republic?
    All it takes to ruin a nuclear power like Pakistan is a heavy monsoon.
    And now these displaced, flood-hit people will be turned into an advertisement for humanitarian appeals most of which will be gobbled up by local civil and military bureaucratic elite in cahoots with the aid agencies.

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    Jonno52 Jonno52

    2 Aug 2010, 12:52PM

    Some of these comments are just depressing. There are people suffering & dying – can’t cynicism & political point-scoring be put aside for a minute? There are plenty of regular opportunities in other threads to get stuck into Pakistan, Islam etc etc.

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    homohumanitarian homohumanitarian

    2 Aug 2010, 1:01PM

    TiredOfInaction
    2 Aug 2010, 12:44PM

    Oh dear God where has our haunmanity gone !!!!

    What is happening in Pakistan is truly tragic. The people you see in these pictures of devastation are proud and strong people whose homes and lands have been inundated.
    On the other hand, the country’s rulers, mainly the army over the last six decades, have been obsessed with building military muscle and deluding themselves with illusions of grandeur when most towns and villages do no have even a rudimentary sewage system, water management or disaster preparedness plan.
    The country’s elite has had its priorities wrong and the people are suffering. Please don’t take it as a sign of lack of humanity when the criminal negligence and indifference of Pakistani ruling classes towards their people are being highlighted here.

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    homohumanitarian homohumanitarian

    2 Aug 2010, 1:10PM

    Jonno52
    2 Aug 2010, 12:52PM
    There are plenty of regular opportunities in other threads to get stuck into Pakistan, Islam etc etc.

    Let me ask you a question: Why is Islamabad safe from these floods and Pindi and most of the rest of north-western Pakistan is being devastated? Look at the rootcause of the problem. The rain is not the problem; the problem is the misplaced priorities of those who have been running the country. If they had spent a fraction of the defence budget on development, probably the floods could have been managed better.

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    andrewfisk andrewfisk

    2 Aug 2010, 1:23PM

    Those poor poor people. Imagine if you will losing over a thousand people in your area. Imagine having to live in circumstances that pit you between a religious state that is under pressure from militant islam and on the other side the Taliban threatening your existence. It is a national tragedy.

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    seesense seesense

    2 Aug 2010, 1:23PM

    Mr Homo,

    I dont think Pakistan has anything much to brag about at the moment except for its long term suffering people who endure disaster after disaster with determination and endurance.

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    AirStavros AirStavros

    2 Aug 2010, 1:24PM

    The British Ambassador has been summoned by the Pakistani authorities to explain David Cameron’s comments last week aboutboth that country’s inability or otherwise to reduce the incidents of terrorism as well as a ‘blind eye’ to Taliban influence and their influence on some of those in the intelligence agencies. Maybe he will be summoned again later this week to explain exactly how Britain will be helping with the flood disaster. Do you know what? I’ve been a Guardian reader since 1975 and after all that time I’m running out of compassion. Why did I start reading the Guardian? Because I admired the stand it took on the persecution of Ali Bhutto, later hanged by Zia Al Haq.

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    homohumanitarian homohumanitarian

    2 Aug 2010, 1:28PM

    As someone who has lived most of his life in Pakistan and now deeply worried about the safety of his friends and their families, let me tell you that people there are angry. They hate being turned into beggars overnight through no fault of their own. Why were there no flood warnings? No pre-flood evacuations? No system in place to tackle the floods? No capacity to deal with the aftermath? There are so many unanswered questions and there thousands of angry people.
    And this is not the first time such a disaster has struck Pakistan. The October 2005 earthquake had caused a similar situation, yet no one seems to have learnt any lessons. Why? Because those who control the resources and receive billions of dollars in western aid (yes, billions since 9/11 alone) are more interested in and preoccupied with high strategic matters of liberating Kashmir, gaining strategic depth in Afghanistan and earning bragging rights for their nuclear weapons.
    There is a clear link between the high politics of that country and recurrent humanitarian crises. I’m deeply aggrieved and it’s a personal tragedy in many ways, but we cannot ignore questions of negligence and apathy on the part of the country’s civil-military elite.

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    guthier guthier

    2 Aug 2010, 1:39PM

    “Because those who control the resources and receive billions of dollars in western aid are more interested in and preoccupied with high strategic matters …”

    Sounds like a day in the office. 😉

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    uffff uffff

    2 Aug 2010, 1:57PM

    This is not about the Pakistani government’s “priorities” being all wrong. The govt.. just doesn’t give a rat’s ass about the people of the country. Simple. We have governors and ministers here whining about how they need a new Mercedes Benz or an SUV, while our dashing President is off to London despite the Pakistanis begging him to spare a modicum of self respect. It’s no wonder that whenever the country is struck by tragedy, man made or other the govt. is always just as ineffectual. Pakistan is fast becoming or perhaps already is the failed state it is touted as being. Yes, Pakistan has become that porous and hollowed out that all it would take to knock it off would be a week of heavy rain. The Pakistani leadership over the years has made a mockery of itself and of its people.

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    mcyigra3 mcyigra3

    2 Aug 2010, 1:59PM

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    Kat42 Kat42

    2 Aug 2010, 2:44PM

    The people of Pakistan deserve our help and compassion as do the poor and powerless of all countries including Britain. It is not they who seek and pursue wars but their corrupt arrogant leaders.
    If the day comes when people only qualify for compassion if their nationality, religion and politics are judged acceptable, the human race will die and deserve to do so.

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    andrewfisk andrewfisk

    2 Aug 2010, 2:48PM

    @JoeDM

    Should we provide aid to a country that appears to be supporting the Taliban killing our troops?

    Should we be bombed for habouring tmass murderers like Pinochet or bombing Iraq and Afghanistan back into the stone age? I think the people do deserve our help.

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    TiredOfInaction TiredOfInaction

    2 Aug 2010, 3:08PM

    homohumanitarian

    I understand what you’re saying but should that stop us helping out the actual people that are dying?

    I dunno I prefer to let the aid agencies and people with experience in this deal with that side of it whilst I put my hand in my pocket to help those that need it. If I could I’d be out there now physically helping out however I could.

    This world has forgotten what it means to be human. The amount of factions, religions, beliefs, politics, greed, race, gender issues have truly removed our humanity.

    Where’s the caring gone? Are we really that apathetic now

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    homohumanitarian homohumanitarian

    2 Aug 2010, 3:26PM

    uffff
    2 Aug 2010, 1:57PM
    This is not about the Pakistani government’s “priorities” being all wrong. The govt.. just doesn’t give a rat’s ass about the people of the country. Simple

    I agree. But who and what consitute the government of Pakistan? Look at the country’s history and you’ll get the answer: civilian governments are a mere fig leaf for military (read, army) rule. Calamities occur all over the world and are a natural phenomenon. But the response in Pakistan is always marked by an astonishing degree of unpreparedness, apathy and chaos. How much money goes into buying weapons and strengthening Pakistan’s military sinew is directly related to how little goes into civilian organisations responsible for disaster management. Clearly a matter of priorities.

    TiredOfInaction
    2 Aug 2010, 3:08PM
    homohumanitarian

    I understand what you’re saying but should that stop us helping out the actual people that are dying?

    Not at all. But we should also hold the Pakistani civil-military elite accountable for its actions, or lack thereof. The response to these floods was slow and delayed. India is experiencing a similarly unprecedented monsoon, but can you give me the figures for those killed and displaced there (insignificant as compared to Pakistan’s, I speculate, and believe me I’m not an Indian—I would have been one were it not for the 1947 partition).

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    homohumanitarian homohumanitarian

    2 Aug 2010, 3:34PM

    mcyigra3
    2 Aug 2010, 1:59PM

    This is a natural disaster nothing to do with the War.

    I beg to disagree. The worst hit areas (Malakand, Swat, much of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province) are also the main theatre of the war (on terrorism) in Pakistan. For years these people have been at the receiving end of the Taliban tyranny and attacks as well as Pakistan military’s operations and now hit by a deluge. Again, compare how much of the American, western and Pakistani financial and human resources have been spent there in the bid to counter the Taliban with the money spent on civic delopment, and you’ll realise why the mainly Pashtun people of these areas continue to suffer from violence—both man-made and natural.

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    PeaceVSdirtyGames PeaceVSdirtyGames

    2 Aug 2010, 3:39PM

    For all the insane and morally dead people trying to make jokes on human tragedy. Remember natural disasters happens everywhere , the worst disasters in the history happened to most powerful nations and totally wiped them out. It can happen anywhere and we should think beyond politics and help the poor people who has nothing to do with politics they are merely striving to live a hand to mouth live and working day and night to feed their kids and now have lost everything. Yes Pakistan doesn’t have the resources to cop this disaster . Remember when same kind of disasters happened to mighty powers of the world there were people killed and homeless even worst they started looting each other .Also remember whenever there is a disaster in the world no matter where Pakistan is one of the very first nations to respond. Whether its the Tsunami , haiti earth quake or other disasters, Pakistani doctors, relief workers, and government aid gets there fast and help people. After every disaster no matter what part of the world or what religion ,there are always immediate fund raising telethons for several days on TV and millions of people call in express their sadness and contribute millions of dollars, which is sent to those nations. Even when there rival India is hit with Tsunami there were TV Telethons for several days in Pakistan , inviting celebrates from Pakistan and India and millions of people contributed for their fellow common indian humans. beyond religion and politics. Common Pakistani people should be proud for being so resilient, generous, innocent, struggling and good at heart , who are ready to help anyone , any religion any nation and ready to sacrifice whatever little they got for their survival. that makes them the most unique nation. I agree that the extremist organizations will be the first to try and get to these people and help them on ground to get there sympathies. But I am confident in these extremely innocent and honest and hardworking people that they will refuse their help as they have been doing in the past during earthquake and other disasters. I salute to the honest and bravery of these innocent people and these little kids , who are dying in this disaster with hunger but nobody is steeling and robbing others. God help those who help themselves . Government of Pakistan is useless, world community is too politicized and Consciousness. Media is in the hand of hate mongers , only knows point scoring and creating sensation out of disasters to sell their time. Hope good people will wake up one day and think “Out of Media” , propaganda machines, and politics. God bless humanity.

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    NoNukesPlease NoNukesPlease

    2 Aug 2010, 3:49PM

    I really hope that lessons can be learned here and we have a better response to future disasters. Firstly, tree cover, is it a factor? Secondly, building regulations, are there any, do we need more?

    We should all give all we can to help alleviate the suffering, but we should also be looking at cause and effect.

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    Pointman Pointman

    2 Aug 2010, 3:57PM

    I don’t mean to be callous, but I think this is a great opportunity for the West. We should provide as much aid as is required, clearly marked as originating from Britain/America, etc, to show that we are not the enemy, that we are not out to kill Muslims and that we can be good global neighbours, Providing aid in such a situation is not only the right thing to do from a moral perspective, but also an opportunity to display our good intentions.

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    Novelist Novelist

    2 Aug 2010, 4:09PM

    Having just been through flooding as bad as that shown, it was sad to see the apparent inability of all those people shown in the video, the one where people were hanging on to posts, to help themselves. One would think that one person with a rope could get across and secure it, to make a rope guide. If this lack of direction is repeated country wide then heaven help them.

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    PeaceVSdirtyGames PeaceVSdirtyGames

    2 Aug 2010, 4:12PM

    The people who are trying to influence other people(due to political reasons) not to help these humans in disaster. And trying to make a fake point that money will get to wrong hands. These people should understand that they could be indirectly responsible for the death thousands of children and innocent people, due to lack of rapid aid. Because their efforts may block the aid that would have been going to these people to enable them to sustain their life. For those people who may be influenced and get double minded by the comments of some hate mongers. Remember it might be bad if your Aid end up in wrong hands, but it will be Worst and so cruel if someone dies because you didn’t do your duty to humanity due to some political influence and some dies due to lack of your prompt help. No matter what religion you belong to, it depends on your intention. If the money you sent with the intention to help poor , even if it ends up in the hands of corrupt government. You still performed your duty because your intention was right. But if your didn’t send Aid and let the people die , that wrong. Feel yourself in the sufferings these people are going through. Trust in God , be generous and help these people. God will get it to them.

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    Pointman Pointman

    2 Aug 2010, 4:22PM

    While I don’t agree with PeaceVSdirtyGames on the religious aspect, I agree with the seniment – in a situation like this, where the choice is between trying to help people and doing nothing at all, there is no choice. If others choose to divert aid to their own ends, they should be damned,

    Of course, it goes without saying that every effort should be made to ensure transparency.

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    vakibs vakibs

    2 Aug 2010, 4:26PM

    homohumanitarian
    These floods are really sad. But let’s not talk about politics and concentrate our best in aiding those people in need. Disaster can strike anyone. Remember how ill-prepared US was when the hurricane Katrina struck Lousiana. This is outrageous, but almost expected of our incompetent governments.

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    homohumanitarian homohumanitarian

    2 Aug 2010, 4:59PM

    vakibs
    2 Aug 2010, 4:26PM

    These floods are really sad. But let’s not talk about politics and concentrate our best in aiding those people in need.

    OK. Consider this: On average, Islamabad gets more rain than most other regions of Pakistan. There’s been more rain in Islamabad this season (probably, I don’t have the stats at the moment) than the worst affected areas. How many people killed and displaced in Islamabad? Only a few, perhaps, and that too in the well-hidden shanty towns. Why? Because Islamabad does have a rain-management system, the water flows into the sewers and down into Nullah Leh (which hurts Rawalpindi and other adjoining areas).

    Why is there such a glaring lack of Islamabad-like planning even in the major cities and riverside town and villages in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (formerly North-western Frontier Province)? Sorry, but it reminds me of politics, equitable allocation of resources, lopsided spending for the abode of the military-civil bureaucrats etc.

    And, yes, those in need ought to be given full support and assistance but the primary and immediate responsibility of providing that aid lies with the local authorities in Pakistan who, we’ve seen in numerous similar situations in the past, remain ill-prepared and lack the required resources which are spent on….

    “…authorities said 43 military helicopters and 100 boats had been deployed to try to save them.”

    Look at the number of people trapped in the floods and rendered homeless and then assess the response days after the floods first struck, and then compare it with the number of helicopters and personnel deployed to ward off the (nonexistent at the moment) Indian threat. I rest my case.

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    PeaceVSdirtyGames PeaceVSdirtyGames

    2 Aug 2010, 5:12PM

    The regions affected by the flood are same regions and people who are being continuously attacked by terrorists/taliban and suicide bombers. Besides AID government of Pakistan should also make sure the security of these poor people. There should be a strict warning from Government of Pakistan that any further suicide attack in these areas will have deadly consequences , and the army will respond with whatever weapons it has on its disposal, chemical, biological etc. That way at least there will be some halt in terrorist attacks on people , government officials and army itself to carry on the relief work effectively, with lesser fear of suicide/terrorist attacks.

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    PeaceVSdirtyGames PeaceVSdirtyGames

    2 Aug 2010, 5:21PM

    homohumanitarian , I am not sure what you are trying to achieve. By saying why the disaster is not happening in Islamabad. Since it did not happen in Islamabad , so its government fault and no aid should be provided to these poor people. It’s like saying when the disaster in Lousiana or hamachalperdesh , why not in DC or Delhi. That doesn’t make any sense. Disaster anywhere is sad and tragic.When there was earthquake in Islamabad, it was not happening in these regions. This is a huge flood which couldn’t be completely avoided by any government. I am sorry to say either you are yourself confused or trying to confuse others.

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    homohumanitarian homohumanitarian

    2 Aug 2010, 6:14PM

    PeaceVSdirtyGames
    2 Aug 2010, 5:12PM

    There should be a strict warning from Government of Pakistan that any further suicide attack in these areas will have deadly consequences , and the army will respond with whatever weapons it has on its disposal, chemical, biological etc.

    Are you stupid or what?

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    PeaceVSdirtyGames PeaceVSdirtyGames

    2 Aug 2010, 7:34PM

    homohumanitarian ,

    My comments says warning (Just warning , not to actually perform it). I should have further elaborate it to avoid any such idiotic interpretations.
    The point I am trying to make is that these people are being continuously attacked and killed by terrorists/taliban/suicide bombers, merely for not joining them against their so called war against occupational forces. Thousands of innocent people has been killed throughout Pakistan due to these attacks. And the government is so inept to protect these people. On the worst note these people are also victim of collateral damage from Pak army and nato operations against terrorists.
    Some thing should be done intelligently to protect the peaceful masses of Pakistan from this collateral . They can not fight against anybody , they are fighting the war of their day to day survival. They need some sort of relief.
    If the International community doesn’t act in timely manner , than this population will be depleted promptly. The ratio of innocent people’s loss compared to terrorist loss is too high. Maybe its 95% to 5% ratio. Thousands of these people has been devastated and their livings has been destroyed, since the start of war in Afghanistan 80’s.
    This is the time for Intelligent community of the world to come forward and advise the Nato forces and Pakistan government the correct and intelligent ways to fight this war. Just criticizing them wouldn’t resolve the problem , because they don’t have the capacity and wisdom to resolve this issue. And scared to admit it.

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    Mauryan Mauryan

    2 Aug 2010, 8:41PM

    This is no time to talk about geo-politics. The poor people are struggling for their lives. Geo-politics is not their priority right now. This is really tragic. I’d like to see Indian government offer aid in any which way to help these people.

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    postsituationist postsituationist

    2 Aug 2010, 10:33PM

    Mauryan
    2 Aug 2010, 8:41PM
    This is no time to talk about geo-politics.

    More than geopolitics, I think, it is Pakistan’s internal politics—bloody, dispensable civilians (come flood, suicide attacks or American drones) helpless against a military-dominated state and society—that is more to the point in this context.

    People need help and we should do all we can to provide it–whether it’s a small cheque or some clothes cast aside. However, I do not trust either the bloody civilian politicians of Pakistan nor, more crucially, the generals running the relief show (and everything else worth a dime) to empathise with the flood-affected population. From the Afghan refugees in the 1980s and 90s to those internally displaced due to the post-9/11 conflict from the tribal areas, the powers-that-be in Pakistan exploit both the international humanitarian sentiment and the misery of their own people to enrich themselves. You cannot delink the domestic politics of Pakistan from its inability to adequately respond to emergencies like this one.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/global/blog/2010/aug/02/pakistan-floods-live-updates

are 5 comments on this post

  1. TGRWorzel 13 August 2010 at 5:31 pm

    Yup, I’m very angry.

    Angry that at a time when the UK is in the midst of unprecedented cuts in public services and we’re expected to work longer for less pension, but have to struggle to provide for our own futures because there’s no full-time work available these days, only a part-time job if you are lucky, once again we’re being expected to bail out and subsidise another corner of the world, as though we’re a bottomless pit…

    Let Pakistan’s neighbours help. India is a rich country these days, isn’t it? It’s where all our work went…

    I’m also tired of seeing reporters laying it on thick, clearly trying to win an award for their reports. Particularly on the BBC…

  2. margaret brandreth- jones 13 August 2010 at 6:01 pm

    The Indus is full , people have died and will continue to die from associated disease and post trauma infection for a long time to come.

    Water is the most powerful element on earth, the strength of it , the lack of it, the volumes and masses of it. What truly can we do?

  3. Azher 15 August 2010 at 12:30 am

    A govermnet which is in-capable of looking after its people should be booted out!

  4. Azher 15 August 2010 at 12:41 am

    They might have connections with extremism but what they are doing there is only humantarian.Also what goverment is failing to do and successing in doing is to leave victoms abondened like always and push them further towards extremism.Such a goverment should not only be blamed but also prosecuted for exposing its people to extremism.We have extremism and military take overs in the first place because of these in-capable civil leadership never do what they should be doing.They should be booted out..for the sake of peace.

  5. TGRWorzel 16 August 2010 at 8:30 pm

    If you are governing a country which has a lot of low-lying land and is vulnerable to flooding, don’t you have a fundamental responsibility to plan appropriately for that eventuality, and not rely on the international community being a soft-touch when you plead “humanitarian disaster”…?

    So I think the International Community needs as much of a shake as the global banking system. The old way of doing things isn’t appropriate any more.

    This issue, reluctance to help if you want to call it that, is perhaps an unforseen spin off from the global financial crisis of 2007/08, the implications of which are still playing out today and will continue to do so for many years to come…

http://blogs.channel4.com/world-news-blog/rising-anger-and-resentment-over-pakistan-flood-response/13704

NATURE wrote on 08/17/2010 05:26:27 PM:

History of Sindhu RIVER and SINDHU Sanskruti is ancient. And it goes back to vedic times. People living near those rivers are aware of those all History, facts and believes.

SINDHI is pronounced as INDUS but actually is SAPTA SINDHU RIVER. And SAPTA SINDHU Avrohan (descend from Himalaya) is not just any of Mythology but perfect science fact.

What is SAPTA SINDHU RIVER? As we count those rivers as SINDHU (INDUS) originates from west KAILASH region. And drain to Kashmir valley to PANJAB it meets with other five rivers of Panjab nnmed as RAVI, CHINAB, JELUM SATLAJ and BIYAS.

But that’s the 1+5 =6 ONLY then why SEVAN RIVERS of SAPTA SINDHU? The seventh was SARASVATI which now dried river bed as a remnant as GAGGAR HAKARA river of Rajasthan. As land area of the river bed has been uplifted and diverted the water flows to other channels. So it was SAPTA SINDHU (seven rivers).

Peoples staying on the river banks are aware of all the facts and reality and also with mythology. It has been said that the SAPTA SINDHU is a pious river and it has descended to clear all dirt and SINs to make the land pious and fertile and free of SINs and sinners.

Scientific fact is that as river NILE , GANGA- YAMUNA and Brahmputra, SAPTA SINDHU – Indus is also givers a fertile lands, washes up all dirt and Sins to make land pious and fertile.

Nature and weather all are scientific and are natural phenomenon of god to make the all river to fulfil all that are supposed to do with cleaning

  • reelectnoone wrote on 08/16/2010 02:03:00 PM:

    I can’t help wonder what US response will be like if Pakistan does collapse. Pakistan has nuclear weapons and if the Taliban and/or Al Queda take control that puts them in possession of weapons of mass destruction and medium range missiles with which to threaten the middle east and Israel.

    Are we ready for another invasion to keep nukes out of their hands?

  • morgan1 wrote on 08/16/2010 05:56:05 AM:

    This is another of those Shock Syndrome moment Naomi Klein has written about–Seize the catastrophe for corporate/military change. I wondered how long it would take for MSM to start talking this talk. The U.S. is almost as eager to seize Pakistan and install a puppet regime as it is to invade Iran. I do not believe the existing govt. is being threatened, but the U.S. is ramping up the talk like it always does. We destroyed Haiti economically and democratically and have now seized on the earthquake destruction to totally remake part of the country into some corporate image on the drawing tables for decades:A resort for the moneyed and tourists. As for Pakistan, that would be another foothold in the ME and more resources in our hands. God, I love this country. We are indeed our own worse enemy.

  • frederick wrote on 08/16/2010 05:49:51 AM:

    USMC6670 : The former FEMA director had the credentials and the connection, He also had the basic skills to perform his job or he would have been by-passed by Congress and the Bush senior White House staff overseeing his appointment, but credentials and skills alone is not sufficient to judge a persons on how one reacts to a given set of unforeseen problems, The severity and the swiftness of the deluge might have just overwhelm GW Bush buddy buddy and his entire FEMA staff during the Katrina, they where just not prepared. That Man was not all alone in this guilt pointing he has other team members as well, long staying FEMA senior managers that he is dependent to for information, guidance and advice on the ground. Let us not forget also that the mayor of New Orleans at that time had demanded almost begged that everyone in the city to evacuate to safer grounds the stubborn resistance of so many residences caught them all by surprise.

  • american1975 wrote on 08/15/2010 10:33:36 PM:

    Radiation solves all mankind’s problems.

  • USMC6670 wrote on 08/15/2010 09:36:12 PM:

    jeclawsonjr & jtak101 – Do you have a response to aryan0481 post? I would like to hear one if you do.

  • USMC6670 wrote on 08/15/2010 09:32:12 PM:

    frederick – You are right and wrong about Bush’s culpability in allowing the Katrina relief effort to flounder.

    I believe you are right that what ever would of been asked of him, he would have provided.

    BUT. He appointed a pal and party hack to run FEMA. The man did not have the credentials, and as was proven, the skills to manage the relief effort. He was incompetent! Bush’s failure in his duty to provide FEMA with a competent administrator, resulted in untold misery to thousands.

    The buck stops at the presidents desk.

  • dayfist66 wrote on 08/15/2010 06:42:01 PM:

    Great, all we need is another failed state in that part of the world, and a nuclear one at that. It is time to call Iran in to straighten things out.

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      mirthcontrol mirthcontrol

      13 Aug 2010, 2:04PM

      you reap what you sow surely…(as we in the west are told by our peaceful brothers..)
      and dont worry i dont guess india would get that much aid from ordinary citizens either.

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      proudlycynical proudlycynical

      13 Aug 2010, 2:12PM

      Young Britons of Pakistani origin do not in general compound NHS hospital bills with alcohol abuse, knife crime (with a starting cost of £8,000 per patient to the NHS), nor go in for epidemics of petty crime, nor swallow the state’s funds in out-of-work benefits and housing benefits. The majority live in remarkably settled and productive communities. Family life is taken very seriously and the success of efforts within communities to help young people through difficult pressures of the culture and politics of faith both external and internal to their communities are frankly miraculous.

      The funniest paragaph I’ve read in a long time – Effing hilarious!

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      eisbaer eisbaer

      13 Aug 2010, 2:13PM

      “Last night Channel 4 News reported just over £9.5 million had reached the DEC.”

      I believe the DEC described the response as “generous”.

      It does make you wonder why British-born Pakistanis aren’t reaching deeper into their pockets though.

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      Psalmist Psalmist

      13 Aug 2010, 2:16PM

      Pakistan is the epicentre of Muslim extremism.

      To allow this to affect aid to dying women and children is disgusting and self defeating.

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      EntropyIsHere EntropyIsHere

      13 Aug 2010, 2:16PM

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      rickyatgosport rickyatgosport

      13 Aug 2010, 2:18PM

      Pakistan may be complex but it is not unfair to say that it is the current home of Islamic extremism and that elements of the Pakistani state have no wish to do anything about it.

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      bulbosaur bulbosaur

      13 Aug 2010, 2:21PM

      “… British citizens were tens of thousands of times more likely to die from car accidents, alcohol, obesity and heart disease than from terror attacks.”

      And so on… Catriona – ok yah! – displays the lazy reverse coinage of lambasting native Brits as being boozy and fat….

      And in an article all about collective guilt!

      Cracks you up, it really does…

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      Tetleyteaman Tetleyteaman

      13 Aug 2010, 2:23PM

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      MiskatonicUniversity MiskatonicUniversity

      13 Aug 2010, 2:23PM

      “We are spectators to the difficulties that the subcontinent and particularly Pakistan is going through, but we could perhaps wonder at the wretched and unfounded image of Pakistan when viewed through the lens of the British media. ”

      Wretched and unfounded – well, that certainly applies to the worldview that produced this, and the subsequent parliamentary justification:

      “A Pakistani politician has defended a decision to bury five women alive because they wanted to choose their own husbands. Israr Ullah Zehri, who represents Baluchistan province, told a stunned parliament that northwestern tribesman had done nothing wrong in first shooting the women and then dumping them in a ditch.

      “These are centuries-old traditions, and I will continue to defend them,” he said.”

      http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/pakistan/2660881/Pakistani-women-buried-alive-for-choosing-husbands.html

      Condemn Pakistan? All you would have to do would be to print their equivalent of Hansard…

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      MiskatonicUniversity MiskatonicUniversity

      13 Aug 2010, 2:24PM

      And I appreciate you are a “London-based writer” and may not therefore get the Internet (so probably didn’t see the story above) but as for this:

      “Young Britons of Pakistani origin do not in general compound NHS hospital bills with alcohol abuse, knife crime (with a starting cost of £8,000 per patient to the NHS), nor go in for epidemics of petty crime, nor swallow the state’s funds in out-of-work benefits and housing benefits.”

      ???

      I know several Britons with Pakistani roots, and they’re all good people, but I doubt any of them would make such wild claims. And as London-based writer you would be in a good position to go down the ONS and find some evidence…

      Joseph Rowntree Foundation: “Pakistani and Bangladeshi families are easily the poorest. High unemployment among men, low levels of economic activity by women, low pay and large family sizes all contribute to a situation in which 60 per cent fall below the unofficial poverty line set by half average household income.”

      Which in turn leads to a dependence on benefits for many families:

      “Low earnings and large family sizes meant that as many as 40 per cent of Bangladeshi and Pakistani working families are receiving Family Credit and other ‘in-work’ benefits, compared with only 8 per cent of white couples with children.”

      http://www.jrf.org.uk/media-centre/pakistani-and-bangladeshi-families-four-times-more-likely-live-poverty

      And unfortunately, crime is a problem too:

      “The percentage of Muslims in prison is disproportionably high – 12% of the prison population are Muslims, despite only 3% of the UK population identifying with the faith.”

      “A young Muslim man in prison, using the alias Mohammed, said that: “You know many families don’t actually deal with what their son or daughter has done.

      “Parents say things like ‘Oh my son… he’s been to Pakistan for the last six months’, ‘he’s been studying in Morocco for 18 months’, or ‘he’s just gone off to get married’, rather than admitting he has been inside.””

      http://www.crimestoppers-uk.org/media-centre/crime-in-the-news/crime-news-archive/december-2009-crime-in-the-news/more-support-needed-for-muslims-leaving-prison

      Is it the fashion now among London-based writers not to do any research – because five minutes at the Interweb would have given you the basis for a credible article.

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      Existangst Existangst

      13 Aug 2010, 2:25PM

      FFS, where is your humanity, people? Millions are homeless, without access to clean water and food. This had been an enormous catastrophe, perhaps as a 1 in a 100 year event better contingencies could have been made by the authorities. But Pakistan is a poor country and costs billions to build flood defences and controls.

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      Fulton Fulton

      13 Aug 2010, 2:26PM

      My honest experience of Pakistan as a visitor back in my student days was wholly negative. Very dysfunctional, corrupt, divided internally and only really united by hatred of India. Made me understand why immigration to the UK seemed like a good deal (and certainly made me appreciate my own fortunate birth more).

      India, by contrast, I found “works” despite its obvious problems. It’s a democracy for all its warts and the fact that it functions at all given the immense poverty and diversity is an extraordinary human achievement. I’d unreservedly tell anybody to go and see India at least once, I’d tell them to go to Pakistan only if they really really had to.

      So, yeah, I’m afraid I think the divergence in reporting exactly reflects my own experience of the two countries.

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      jakboot jakboot

      13 Aug 2010, 2:26PM

      Is this the most one sided piece of CIF nonsene we have had for a long time? The sad thing is that there is a kernal of truth but its not the media, its our everyday expiriences that determine whether we give money to Pakistan.

      I think proudlycynical has already made the point about that paragraph. Catriona obviously hasn’t been to the Magistrates Courts in Burnley, blackburn, Bradford etc!

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      MiskatonicUniversity MiskatonicUniversity

      13 Aug 2010, 2:29PM

      I realise that you are now probably regretting writing this article Catriona. Being based in London turning out not to be a subsitute for research, but drains on the NHS?

      Are you familiar with the issue of multi-generational cousin marriage in the community (hasn’t affected anyone I know, perhaps because many are East African Asians):

      “”Family events are really nice because my in-laws and his are related,” she says.

      “You have the same family history and when you talk about the old times either here or in Pakistan you know who you are talking about. It’s just a nicer emotional feel.”

      But the statistics for recessive genetic illness in cousin marriages make sobering reading.

      British Pakistanis are 13 times more likely to have children with genetic disorders than the general population – they account for just over 3% of all births but have just under a third of all British children with such illnesses.

      Indeed, Birmingham Primary Care Trust estimates that one in ten of all children born to first cousins in the city either dies in infancy or goes on to develop serious disability as a result of a recessive genetic disorder.”

      http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/newsnight/4442010.stm

      Please, next time do some research.

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      Leopold1904 Leopold1904

      13 Aug 2010, 2:29PM

      Pakistanis are subcontinental people, and are in many ways similar to their neighbours in India. They share not only a language, but cultural ties, history and – a personal view here – a great warmth of character that is unique to this part of the world.

      I am uneasy about commenting here as this thread will quickly degenerate – if it hasn’t by the time I post – into the usual hatefest.

      I am even more uneasy, however, about branding any particular ‘people’ as having a great warmth of character that is unique to this part of the world. ‘ Apart from sounding suspiciously like racial stereotypes of Africans – ‘they are such jolly people!’ – it implies that other ‘peoples’ have less warmth of character – which is also racist nonsense.

      And there is an argument to be made the other way re the ‘drip drip’ argument, which is that, contra Ms Luke, the media deliberately plays down news reports of crime against minorities in Pakistan such as Sikhs, Ahmadis and Christians, unless such crimes result in large body counts.

      As for this cheery little anecdote

      Moni Mohsin, particularly, told how on a recent visit to Lahore in February, while at the hairdressers and with some bombing recently in the city, her two stylists were chattering away above her head about the real worry, that it was Valentine’s Day and you could not find little gold hearts anywhere but anywhere, since they had sold out in all the shops and bazaars.

      Similar things were said in the Blitz – they didn’t mean that the horrors were any better, however.

      If i can counter with an anecdote of mine, a friend born and raised in Lahore went back there recently and said it was now like a foreign city, with a fear that was absent in his youth.

      And as for the observers you mention above, both the BBC corespondent and your own Declan Walsh paint an exceptionally gloomy – and I think accurate – picture of life in modern Pakistan.

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      switzerland switzerland

      13 Aug 2010, 2:30PM

      I hear that six million children are at risk. Then I hear people saying ‘why should we help a country that can afford nuclear weapons’?
      I am a member of CND. I detest Islamism. But how can you blame ordinary people, especially children, for the policies of their government, especially in a country which doesn’t have a good record of consulting voters? It would have been so much better if they hadn’t broken away from India and hadn’t made religion a central plank of their identity. But, look, if you want these people to be well disposed towards you, how about helping them a bit in their time of need? Catriona has inspired me to do so.

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      Neocli Neocli

      13 Aug 2010, 2:33PM

      Existangst wrote:

      “But Pakistan is a poor country and costs billions to build flood defences and controls.”

      How much did they spend on their nukes? It sounds like some poor spending choices if you ask me.

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      Urism Urism

      13 Aug 2010, 2:33PM

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      Bilingual Bilingual

      13 Aug 2010, 2:35PM

      Young Britons of Pakistani origin do not in general compound NHS hospital bills with alcohol abuse, knife crime (with a starting cost of £8,000 per patient to the NHS), nor go in for epidemics of petty crime, nor swallow the state’s funds in out-of-work benefits and housing benefits. The majority live in remarkably settled and productive communities. Family life is taken very seriously and the success of efforts within communities to help young people through difficult pressures of the culture and politics of faith both external and internal to their communities are frankly miraculous.

      Please provide links and evidence for this claim.

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      invincibleb4u invincibleb4u

      13 Aug 2010, 2:37PM

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      CapnB CapnB

      13 Aug 2010, 2:37PM

      You start with,”Pakistan is unfairly labelled a land of bombs and burkhas”, and then go on with an anecdote about hairdressers in Lahore chatting about valentines day, despite the recent bombings.

      What’s your next outing, London during the blitz wasn’t all bombs and blackouts ?

      And what about that India then ?

      Piss poor journalism !

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      ReadingOldBoy ReadingOldBoy

      13 Aug 2010, 2:37PM

      “Compare and contrast: within days of the 2004 tsunami, £100m had poured into Oxfam, the Red Cross and other charities, and by February 2005 when the DEC closed its appeal, the total stood at £300 million. The Haiti earthquake appeal closed with donations of £101 million. Last night Channel 4 News reported just over £9.5 million had reached the DEC.”

      Wouldn’t a more worthwhile comparison be with the response to the 2005 Earthquake that affected Pakistan? That would give a clearer indication as to whether it is location, or the nature of the disaster, or perhaps some other factor, that is is to blame.

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      toonbasedmanc toonbasedmanc

      13 Aug 2010, 2:39PM

      I’m one of the people who hasn’t rushed and donated to this disaster fund and who did give generously to the tsunami and the haiti funds. I also donated following the pakistan earthquake a few years ago.

      The difference this time is absolutely nothing to do with the emergency being in Pakistan – it’s because the current cuts culture means that me and Mr TBM are very likely to lose our jobs in the near future. As a result, we’re not spending money on anything – as we don’t know when we’ll need it to keep a roof over our heads.

      In relative terms, I know we are still amongst the wealthy, but right now, the first charity I need to support is my own family.

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      shalone shalone

      13 Aug 2010, 2:40PM

      I think many are off topic. Floods are destroying everything and the aid is slow. In Germany I was told that only half a million € were given as charity. In the same period, Germans donated for Haiti people 21 million €. So blaming on the mad terrorists and cousin marriages is not relevant here. On the other hand this obsession with Allah by so many in Pakistan is off the mark. If Allah is so great, he should not have killed so many and destroyed so much. It is the infidel west that is helping. Forget about God, he does not help anybody. Why should he? he is one who does the destruction. May be he is dead.

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      venerablejohn venerablejohn

      13 Aug 2010, 2:41PM

      We are spectators to the difficulties that the subcontinent and particularly Pakistan is going through, but we could perhaps wonder at the wretched and unfounded image of Pakistan when viewed through the lens of the British media. And perhaps not be so surprised that having swallowed this over many years, the public find it hard to overcome their misgivings and to give.

      My Catholic Parish has just collected and sent 2 grand this week.

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      sham144 sham144

      13 Aug 2010, 2:44PM

      Great article which actually tells the truth about Pakistan/Muslim and its people, unfortunately you will never convince those rightwing, islamaphobes, EDL lovers, extremist, closet racist, etc!! So get ready for a barrage of rightwing misleading comments!!

      The way I see it Muslims are saving “free speech” in the West – just think without muslims there would be no one to test “freedom of speech”!! Can you imagine the national outcry if similar articles were written about Jews, Hindus, blacks, etc!!

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      Humanoid1 Humanoid1

      13 Aug 2010, 2:45PM

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      rash1144 rash1144

      13 Aug 2010, 2:45PM

      It is futile to discuss Pakistan’s bad image when millions of its poor were devastated by a huge flood and Guardian has pointed that Al-Qaeda is capitalizing to improve its image by coming first to help flood victims. USA has sent fleet of helicopters and aid from many other countries is coming. The UN chief is visiting Pakistan to monitor the damages and for humanity sake, it will be better not to bicker about Islamist but help those needy who really need help.

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      Raashid Raashid

      13 Aug 2010, 2:45PM

      Pakistan is OK for now – the War Party are about to get themselves bogged down against Iran for a decade, which means they need to keep Sunni Pakistan onside.

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      Damntheral Damntheral

      13 Aug 2010, 2:47PM

      There is also the fact that the area most affected by the floods is bandit country – many refugees have been robbed on the way out. Can’t blame charities for staying away, really. It is very unfortunate for the victims.

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      Airom Airom

      13 Aug 2010, 2:47PM

      Compare and contrast: within days of the 2004 tsunami, £100m had poured into Oxfam, the Red Cross and other charities, and by February 2005 when the DEC closed its appeal, the total stood at £300 million. The Haiti earthquake appeal closed with donations of £101 million. Last night Channel 4 News reported just over £9.5 million had reached the DEC.

      But I don’t see the $1b lavish Indian response to Pakistan. Has the DEC properly accounted for it?

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      Leopold1904 Leopold1904

      13 Aug 2010, 2:48PM

      Miska says

      British Pakistanis are 13 times more likely to have children with genetic disorders than the general population – they account for just over 3% of all births but have just under a third of all British children with such illnesses.

      I asked Jessica Reed for a blog on this by a medic and got no response.

      ‘As many as 55 per cent of British Pakistanis are married to their first cousin, a figure that rises to as high as 75 per cent in Bradford, west Yorkshire. Just 3 per cent of all children in Britain are of Pakistani origin, but a third of all children with recessive genetic disorders’

      That quote is from this March 2010 news story in Scotland on Sunday

      http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/uk/Call-to-discourage&#8211;.6168647.jp

      which concludes

      Three-quarters of children born with birth defects in Bradford are believed to have parents who are first cousins.

      Deech will effectively reopen a debate started five years ago by MP Ann Cryer, whose Yorkshire community is home to many Pakistanis. Yesterday, she said: “We have been told to be careful, as discussing (this issue] could cause deep offence. Blow that. If people wish to be offended, they will be offended.”

      Muslim scholars also welcomed Deech’s intervention. Islamic teaching discourages marriages between cousins. Inayat Bunglawala, of the Muslim Council of Britain, said: “Education has an important role to play in this area.”

      This is a colossal problem: a catastrophe for the Pakistani community and for Britain. For once I would say to the Guardian ‘listen to Inayat’ – and stop commissioning misleading articles from people who doubtless mean well but are not (to say the least) contributing anything useful.

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      hobot hobot

      13 Aug 2010, 2:49PM

      People in the West boast of their freedom of expression and freedom of thought. You may have have freedom of expression but few of you realize that to a great extent your ‘thought’ is being manipulated by and through your media.

      The pakistan of reality that I know hardly bears any resemblance to the pakistan of fantasy portrayed by the anglo-american media.

      A really nice article but one correction – there is no single language shared by all sub continentals. Many many languages are spoken here.

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      flaky flaky

      13 Aug 2010, 2:49PM

      Finally a decent, sensitive and sympathetic attempt to redress the balance of the usual “India good-Pakistan bad” sort of simplistic view of a very complex reality that so stubbornly permeates western minds. The author’s appeal in dealing sensitively with Pakistan is very much an emotional one, however it is based on little know real facts:
      – The problem of extremism in Pakistan cannot be separated from the geo-politics of the region. This began with the cold war in which Pakistan decided to become a western lacky primarily to counter historical Indian intransigence on progressing the Kashmir issue with any degree of sincerity and things were compounded substantially by the monumental folly that is the so-called “war on terror”
      – When offered a choice Pakistan has never voted for religious fundamentalist parties and always preferred moderates, unlike Indians who have elected neo-fascistic hindu right wing governments in the recent past, which continue to be highly influential in a number states to this day including the diaspora community, which accounts for many rabid commentators of CiF spitting venom against Pakistan routinely
      – The overall problem of terror in India and Pakistan is not so different as the author has pointed out, brutal state suppression of separatist or other indigenous rights movement is practiced by both states with equal vehemence but India manages to avoid international censure on this account
      – There is a growing middle class in India which feels that is being wooed and courted by the west and the this has given the ruling classes and media much increased confidence leading them to imitate or US/Israeli narratives when dealing with Pakistan, such as the uses of the word “terrorists” for kashmiri protestors (like Israel portraying anyone they kill in cold-blood as “terrorist”) when previously they used to be called “militants”.

      There is no doubt that Pakistan has been a troublesome neighbour for India, however it is highly disingenuous to pretend (as many of my jigoistic compatriots on CiF do) that it alone is responsible for the sorry state the sub-continent finds itself in now. There is no way forward other than for India to responsibly deal with the situation by sitting with Pakistan to resolve all outstanding differences. The greatest beneficiary of this policy will be India and then Pakistan and the rest of the world, I hope the leaders of my country will develop wisdom and think of the long term sustainability of the impressive progress they have made over the last two decades. Ignoring problems will not make them go away, it will only make them fester and become much worse as has happened over the past 60+ years.

      There have been occasions (such as Musharraf’s Agra visit) where India could have solved the Kashmir issue practically on it’s own terms, the mind boggles as to why it chose to throw away that opportunity. I am not in favour of India giving an inch of Kashmir to Pakistan as it’s fundametally secular identity almost requires a muslim majority state to be a constituent of the union. I am however completely against India continuing to deny that there is a problem to solve.

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      MiskatonicUniversity MiskatonicUniversity

      13 Aug 2010, 2:51PM

      “I think many are off topic. Floods are destroying everything and the aid is slow.”

      @shalone Like the article itself? Floods and giving were the first paragraph and the last line, and simply a hook on which to hand several paragraphs of…well, groundless assertion would be a kind way to put it.

      Contradicted by the evidence, would be another.

      “Can you imagine the national outcry if similar articles were written about Jews, Hindus, blacks, etc!!”

      @sham144 – National outcry, about what? A lack of research? Hey, this is Newspaper 2.0, where the readers do the spadework.

      @Humanoid1 – plenty of Pakistani-orgin Britons drink (and plenty of people in Pakistan), I just don’t think they’ve told Catriona about it. I could point her in the direction of a relevant cocktail bar if she’d like…

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      venerablejohn venerablejohn

      13 Aug 2010, 2:55PM

      I can’t believe that people are using the fact that the despots and elites have equired nukes as an excuse not to help people dying, where’s your compassion?? Sheeesh.

      Young Britons of Pakistani origin do not in general compound NHS hospital bills with alcohol abuse

      my experience working in an Hospital in a Yorkshire Mill town does not concurr with this assertion Catriona. It might not have been alcohol abuse but the level of heart disease amongst Asians is staggering, usually down to bad diet, smoking and sedatery lifestyles. where do you live?

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      ShafeeAlZindig ShafeeAlZindig

      13 Aug 2010, 2:57PM

      I agree. Pakistan is unfairly being labelled as a land of bombs and burqas. That dubious label rightfully belongs to Afghanistan. Pakistan however is heading that way at an alarming pace. What goes around comes around.

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      Bilingual Bilingual

      13 Aug 2010, 3:00PM

      This comment has been removed by a moderator. Replies may also be deleted.
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      sodabicarb sodabicarb

      13 Aug 2010, 3:01PM

      Chris Morris’s shocking report in May for the BBC

      Excuse me, is this about Pakistan or India. It seems that the only way you can make Pakistan look “good” is if you make India look worse.

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      sodabicarb sodabicarb

      13 Aug 2010, 3:06PM

      Pakistanis are subcontinental people, and are in many ways similar to their neighbours in India. They share not only a language, but cultural ties, history

      You better go and tell that to the Pakistanis ’cause that must be news to them.

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      JustALondonGirl JustALondonGirl

      13 Aug 2010, 3:09PM

      This is soo one sided its almost comical. Pakistanis are perfect and India is terrible. What a caricature,

      Its such a Pakistani viewpoint to compare itself with India, which for some reason you feel the need to perpetuate. Its not a competition. Both countries (like most countries) have good and bad points. India gets more coverage as it has a freer press hence more journalists and its significantly bigger.

      ‘Young Britons of Pakistani origin do not in general compound NHS hospital bills with alcohol abuse, knife crime (with a starting cost of £8,000 per patient to the NHS), nor go in for epidemics of petty crime, nor swallow the state’s funds in out-of-work benefits and housing benefits. ‘

      Crap. I can tell you of loads of families that have 6 or 7 kids and claim every benefit going, Its not limited to Pakistani familes, but it exists there too.

    AnhThe (Vietnam)My country-Vietnam is affected by flood every year. how horrendous it is! By the way, i woud like to express my sympathy with pakistani. I hope the disaster would recede soon and everything goes well in Pakistan. Many thanks to VOA for helpful programes.

    05-08-2010 No name/s of town/s or village/s affected by the ravaging floods are mentioned. Sad situation.

    05-08-2010 luqman (ireland)omg i feel so sorry for them really

    05-08-2010 Brutus Saint James Von Nohammad (Upstream US)It is a sign from Heaven & Nature disapproving of continued support to terrorist activities and support in the region

    05-08-2010 lockey (australia)WHAT they want our help . were is the god willing that the infedels will die ,,,, looks like god dont like you. but yeah we will help you . but i see no islam country givs a……….k wake up taliban

    05-08-2010 Allah (Everywhere.)I told you fools to stop with the fighting and how to live decent lives.. This is what you get for not listening. A pity Noah isnt around to build you another boat eh? Maybe next time you’ll listen…

    05-08-2010 Thakur Sinha Toiba (Manipur, India)Why such flood not occur in NWFP, it could drown the taliban as well

    05-08-2010 Shame on the Conservatives (Canada)I am ashamed that Canada has only committed $2 million to this disaster.

    05-08-2010 a hussain (uk)the pakistani goverment aint doing anything. news reports showed that the islamist groups were helping the people? whats this

    05-08-2010 Terry (England)I hope they don’t want a handout from the UK, their government spend millions of pounds on atomic bombs and exporting terrorism. No way should we keep feeding the hand that is trying to kill us.

    05-08-2010 Yilin (China)It’s so sad that this kind of disasters happen… We just had the earthquake and flood not too long ago…I saw a lot of kids lost their mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters… We lucky people can not understand how depress they are. We only can give them our help as much as we can and hope they can stand on their feet again… Flood or earthquake has an end but love doesn’t… it passes like torches in the darkness…

    05-08-2010 Yilin (China)It’s so sad that this kind of disasters happen… We just had the earthquake and flood not too long ago…I saw a lot of kids lost their mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters… We lucky people can not understand how depress they are. We only can give them our help as much as we can and hope they can stand on their feet again… Flood or earthquake has an end but love doesn’t… it passes like torches in the darkness…

    05-08-2010 noma (canada)…at the end of the day people we are all children of one powerful energy and the people of pakistan is no different! are you really that ignorant and full of that much hatred? there are more good people in this world than there is bad! …keep in mind this is just the beginning of one seriously hard hitting domino effect that the countries of this planet will not be able to escape!

    06-08-2010 I am oneRepent, and your prayers will be answered. The waters will receed and Pakistan can once again take its rightful place among the great nations.

    06-08-2010 Malang (US)Brutus – so the economic collapse of European and American system is a sign from heaven?? Hurricane Katrina and Oil spill is a sign from heaven? d*** wad!!! Lockey – mate who was your great grandfather? I’ll enlighten – that F&*&* weed was a prisoner possibly a rapsit who came and inseminated all other prisoners in Pussie land after killing Abeoriginese population. That’s how you came into existance. All my prayers with the victims and my curse to the ones who make fun of these situations.

    06-08-2010 unknown..people plz the countrys in distress and dey need prayers…

    06-08-2010 KARMA (USA)WHAT YOU PUT OUT YOU GET BACK 10 FOLD.

    06-08-2010 I saw on BBC news clip, how a littl girl fell down in the crowd, she wanted to grab biscuits. Where is Saudi arabia and oil rich Islamic countries?

    06-08-2010 Children of Adam (Australia)Floods are really a big trouble, my sympathy to those effected. Felt so pity on people writing racist comments. O humans could u please stop inhuman comments even after reading sympathetic news. Alas what happened to humanity.

    06-08-2010 Dylan (un)Stupid comment,all this disaster are to the human ,Not just one country.in some way,the disaster cause by the west country.

    06-08-2010 Patrick2012 is coming

    06-08-2010 Hoang Anh (Vietnam)i’m so sorry when i heard about flood’s destruction in P. I hope The UN and all countries will give a hand for P to overcome the flood.

    06-08-2010 Chan-Soo, Choi (South of Korea)The disasters come from using natual material recklessly, I think. I have sympathy about this country and hope recover soon.

    06-08-2010 khairudin (afghanistan)i amsorry to hear that pakistani people are affected by flood and US trying to help the pakistani people but US has to help the pakistani people by self

    06-08-2010 nga (vietnam)This may be a worst period for them to suffer, and experience, hope that people in Pakistan have enough strength to get get over this catastrophe .

    06-08-2010 Martin (US)This is what you will get , when you export Terror to other countries. Time to learn from this and ask yoiur goivernement and religious leaders to stop terror outsourcing. How long yoiu want US / UK to come and help. 10 years down the line, yoiu will be another Afganistan.

    06-08-2010 HIen Tran (Vietnam)I feel really sorry for the flooded victims, Besides the assistance of embassies of many countries, I hope the public is able to donate food supplies as well as money to the relief centers. I wish the flooding subside as soon as possible.

    06-08-2010 asad khan (Pakistan)i listened to a VOA programme in 2003 Lefties through which i came to know qeen victoria and Napolean Bonaporte used their left hands there was story of a red indian hero and his wars with the pioneers.i wrote a letter snail mail expressing appreciaion for the programme.VOA was good enough to thankfullyacknowledge my letter and send beautiful gift items.That is a sweet memory about VOA.

    06-08-2010 Zoe (USA)Even though it is still summer for me, I made a note of this for National Junior Honor Society, hoping that we can help, even if it’s only a tiny bit. This is really important to me.

    06-08-2010 Akira (Brazin)I am sorry to hear pakistani. They are flood’s victims. I hope that they will overcome this difficulty as soon as possible

    08-08-2010 Roger (USA)I know the US will help when will the world like us we help everyone in trouble.

    13-08-2010 THE TRUTH (UK)NICE TO KNOW THAT PAKISTAN MUSLIMS LOVES THE WEST ALL OF A SUDDEN. ?? DIDNT WE SEE THE SAME PAKISTAN MUSLIMS JUMPING FOR JOY ABOUT 9/11 AND NOW WE MOST FORGET AND FORGIVE .IF THIS WAS HAPPENING TO CHRISTIANS NOT ONE MUSLIM WOULD HELP NOT IN MY COUNTRY OR IN PAKISTAN OR IN INDIA.SORRY I WOULD HELP BUT WHAT I HAVE SEEN WHAT PAKISTAN MULIMS DO TO CHRISTIAN IN PAKISTAN ITS SICKENING,

    http://www1.voanews.com/english/news/Thousands-in-Pakistan-Flee-as-Floodwaters-Spread-South-100015244.html

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