Adil Najam
Karachi burns. Pakistan drowns. Pakistanis are desperate to clutch at some twig, some branch of hope. There seem to be none. Even the cricket team collapsed, much like the mud houses outside Swat and Nowshehra.
The brutal murder of MQM MPA Raza Haider has triggered a cycle of violence and arson in Karachi that has already consumed 32 more lives in its wake. And all of this as the rain waters rise as quickly as the death toll due to them: already over 1650 Pakistanis dead in their wake.
Here is the story thus far, as told by the numbers (all of these numbers are likely to keep rising, much like the flood waters):
Cost to Agriculture:
US$1,000,000,000
(US$ 1 Billion in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa only)
Pakistanis Affected:
2,500,000
(including incidents of disease and displacement and with rising threats of epidemics)
Households needing help:
100,000
(Mostly in Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa)
People still waiting to be evacuated:
27,000
(Including 1500 tourists)
International Relief Pledged so far:
US$30,000,000+
(Including US$10 million from the United States, another US$10 million from the United Nations and US$8 million from United Kingdom)
Death Toll:
1650+
(Estimate of 1500+ in Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa only)
We continue to watch these rising numbers with fear of the worse that is bound to come. We have already written about the mounting deaths (hear and here), about how this is a human-induced calamity and not a ‘natural disaster’, about the need for all of us to help in any which way we can and that ATP has sent all of its revenue to relief agencies working with the poor hit by these flood (via Edhi Foundation). We continue to urge our readers to do the same.
More details on this calamity here, here and here; and a pictorial post of the misery it has brought, here.
My family have been affected badly by the floods as I live in Mardan. I have always dreamed of being able to support my family by becoming a footballer.
If you could watch my video it would be of great help to a fellow pakistani
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91Vdg-hFP6I
Thank you for putting this in perspective. I hope someone will look at what you are writing and start thinking about the real impacts on agriculture, etc.