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Pakistan seeks to salvage economy as more flee floods
Many residents of the Indus delta area, about 100 kilometers (62 miles) east of Karachi, had already left, he said, but “thousands” remained, he said. If a second levee breaks, more towns could be inundated.
Floodwaters are beginning to recede across the country, but because of high tides in the Arabian Sea and the possibility of more rain, the risk of flooding remains in southern Sindh. The spokesman for the powerful Pakistani Army said difficulty in reaching certain areas, where 800,000 people are accessible only by air, could fuel social unrest.
“If the aid doesn’t reach certain areas, then yes, the people will become restive,” said Ma Gen Athar Abbas.
The worst floods in decades have made the government more unpopular, heightening concerns about a nation that is already battling militants. In Sukkur, to the north, flood victims crowded relief camps and said incidents of disease were increasing.
”The children are getting sick,” a man who called himself Bangul told Reuters. “I myself am not feeling well.” He said some people had already started returning to their villages, even though many were still flooded. “We can only see the roof and minaret of the mosque,” he said. “We think maybe it will take six months to dry up and then we can go back.”
Money talks
In Washington, Pakistan’s finance Minister and its central bank governor were due to join talks on salvaging the economy that started with the International Monetary Fund this week. The meetings, which will run until Sept. 2, will focus on the future of an $11 billion IMF loan program agreed upon in 2008. If the IMF agrees to ease the loan’s targets, or extend the repayment period, it would alleviate a financial burdens.
Pakistan will ask for a waiver for missing the target for its fiscal deficit for June, and for overshooting a target of zero net borrowing from the State Bank of Pakistan, officials said.
Pakistan was also supposed to eliminate power subsidies by July 1, but it has failed to do so. According to the United Nation’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, 60 percent, or $274.7 million out of $459.7 million, of funding for emergency response has been met.
Pakistan’s government, and its ally the United States, have warned that the militants the military is battling may try and exploit the chaos. Washington sees Pakistan as a frontline state in its war against the Taliban and al-Qaeda. An unnamed official in Washington, quoted by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), warned that the Pakistani Taliban might target foreign aid workers.
Aid groups in Pakistan brushed off the concern. ”In Pakistan, like many countries where the U.N. operates, security can be an issue,” Maurizio Giuliano, OCHA spokesman, told Reuters. “I would hope that human beings would realize that any attack on people trying to help would be totally inhumane.”
Military spokesman Abbas said he didn’t think the Taliban would attack because that would spark a massive public backlash.
“The local people are all out to welcome them [aid workers],” he said. “In this distressed situation, anyone is welcome.”
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