Pakistani villagers say landowners breached levees to save their own property
Several canal walls were breached during last month’s floods, and accusations are mounting that the ruptures were deliberate. But an irrigation chief says the surging Indus [River Sindh] alone is to blame. …
Read more >> Los Angeles Times
By Sebastian Abbot and Ashraf Khan
As the disastrous floods recede in Pakistan, something new is rising: suspicions and rumors that powerful officials and landowners used their influence to divert water away from their property and inundate the villages and fields of millions of poor Pakistanis.
Courtesy: The Washington Post, September 7, 2010
Read more >> Washington Post
by Suraiya Makhdoom
I had the honour to watch honourable Fakhruddin G. Ibrahim’s detailed interview on ARY news. As usual he was great and spoke as a true son of the soil, Sindh.
To a question about Sindh situation, our Fakhru Saeen said those who live in Sindh should consider themselves as Sindhis. We should realise that Sindh gave us shelter and gave us opportunities to prosper. Sindh has given us everything. He also spoke passionately about the flood related issues.
Saeen Fakhruddin G. Ibrahim has said it all and he has also proven with his deeds what he says. Currently he is busy in providing relief to the flood affected people. He has responded to people’s problems and he is working to address the same. He has provided relief in many flood affected areas, such as Khairpur, Sukkur, Shikarpur and Kashmore.
Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim has a distinguished career and is well known for his principled stance. He has been a Supreme Court Judge, Attorney General for Pakistan, Governor of Sindh and Federal Law Minister. In 1981, while serving as an adhoc Judge of the Supreme Court, he and Justice Dorab Patel (another great son of the soil), refused to take a fresh oath under the PCO, promulgated by General Zia-ul-Haq.
In his latest interview, Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim while analysing the constitutional and other problems of Pakistan, has once again pleaded the case of Sindh as well and expressed his concern for the flood affected people.
Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim, Sindh is proud of you . We salute you for your courage, principles and compassion. May God give you long life and excellent health.
September 7, 2010
Sindh Flood Relief Fundraiser- September 9 from 6PM to 9PM
Sindhi Association of New Jersey (SANJ) has teamed up & actively supports Hemant’s Initiative for SINDH FLOOD RELIEF. Take the little effort to attend the event evening.
An awareness/fund raising event will be held for Sindh relief victims – featuring jazz singer Sachal Vasandani, Nita Chawla, and global environmental/solar energy band Solarpunch.org. All three have given their time and talent generously pro bono, and they all believe in the unity of this collective community and in the betterment of humanity – they are truly a blessing to us in our community as many of you will see on on Thursday September 9 from 6PM to 9PM, Sumei Multidisciplinary Arts Center, 85 Hamilton Street (corner of Hamilton and NJ Railroad Avenue), Newark, NJ.
Strength is in numbers. It is not so much about the donation, but what we can create with that collective energy. If you live away from NJ/NY/CT, we encourage you to organise local fundraisers. Let us know and we will guide you on this. A GLOBAL SINDHI FUND for SINDH FLOOD RELIEF PROJECTS is also in the works.
Associated Press – SUKKUR, Pakistan (AP) — As the disastrous floods recede in Pakistan, something new is rising: suspicions and rumors that powerful officials and landowners used their influence to divert water away from their property and inundate the villages and fields of millions of poor Pakistanis. …
Read more >> FOX NEWS
By Amar Guriro
KARACHI: The doctors and professors of a medical institute in Karachi are struggling to understand the reasons behind a mysterious case in which seven members of a family, hailing from Tharparkar district, claim that metallic needles have penetrated their body parts for the last 14 years.
The ill-fated family members feel a sudden piercing feeling in certain organs, after which mysterious needles can be pushed out of the flesh. They have also brought with them hundreds of needles in matchboxes, while x-ray images have revealed that several needles were still lodged inside their bodies. …
Read more >> Daily Times
Punjab’s losses increased 331pc in new FFC report
By Kalbe Ali
ISLAMABAD, Sept 5: A report of the Federal Flood Commission released on Sept 1 shows a surprising increase of 331 per cent in the number of flood-affected people in Punjab — rising to 8.20 million from 1.90 million mentioned in a report released in August.
Despite the big increase in the number of affected people, the number of affected villages and the acreage of affected area remain the same, 3,132 villages and 2.63 million acres.
The number of damaged houses is also the same in the August and September reports. Even the number of the injured and the dead is the same — 350 injured and 103 dead.
An official of the Ministry of Water and Power said the figures were compiled by the FFC after they had been released by the provinces.
A secondary survey undertaken in Punjab by the Board of Revenue is being directly monitored by Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif.
According to sources in the BOR, reports suggest that the number of villages hit by the flood in Punjab is 2,100 compared to the initial estimate of 3,132.
The FFC’s estimates have been rejected by Sindh Minister for Culture Sassui Palejo, who is a member of flood monitoring committee formed by the Sindh chief minister.
She said concerns over FFC’s figures relating to Punjab had been highlighted at a meeting with Prime Minister Gilani and President Zaradari in Karachi on Sunday.
“We have rejected these estimates,” she said while talking to Dawn. “The situation is still very serious in Sindh as the receding water is posing threat to a number of areas.”
She said the number of displaced people in Thatta was increasing with each passing hour. …
Read more >> DAWN
HYDERABAD, Sept 5: The Awami Jamhoori Party (AJP) has accused the Sindh government of having failed to deal with the flood crisis. …
Read more >> DAWN
U.S. provides additional flood assistance in Sindh
ISLAMABAD (Sept. 2, 2010) – The U.S. is providing nearly $2 million to a local partner to address the emergency needs of flood-displaced residents in Ghotki, Khairpur, and Thatta districts in Sindh. …
Read more >> CENTCOM
by Jamil Hussain Junejo, Bin Qasim Town, Karachi
Such grave devastation through flood did not suffice desires of the nature. Probably, nature wants more.Therfore; it brought rain couple with medium level wind in District Thatta and Badin apart from other regions of Sindh on Wednesday. Most of the affectees staying under open sky and into fragile tents suffered a lot. The community which seemingly suffered more was Bagri community which was tentless because they were neglected by district authorities which like various sections of society consider them untouchables.” Nature did not discriminate in affecting the people but people discriminate in relief services” complained Bhooran, 32 years old mother of four children residing under open skey near society chock at Makli city of district Thatta.
Continue reading “Rain made add up to the sufferings of the Bagri community”
by Jamil Hussain Junejo, Bin Qasim Town, Karachi
The society where man has to strive hard for the attainment of its basic rights, there people don’t even think of the rights of the animals. If in normal situation, animals are deprived of their rights, then it is very hard of think of the lives of the animals in any disaster.
At the time of inundation of Tando Hafiz town, Distrcit Thatta panic gripped the people who rushed to save their lives. But a local resident Khameeso Mallah preferred to save his dogs, while leaving his abode. In his understanding people would be rescued by boats standing there and nobody will come to rescue animals. It might be surprising for neighbourers that how he was taking risk of his live, saving dogs, but he did. He saved all the four dogs.
People fleeing rising floodwaters with what possessions they can carry.
The catastrophe is being shaped by powerful political and economic forces–and the most vulnerable have been left to fend for themselves, reports Snehal Shingavi.
IT HAS been nearly a month since the floods tore through the Swat valley in the northern part of Pakistan. The water has begun flowing into the ocean, and water levels have begun to fall in most places, but the sheer magnitude of the devastation left in its wake is overwhelming.
Read more >> NewRedIndians
India – Ulhasnagar – Premier show of the New hilarious Comedy Sindhi film “Trapada Teshan te” was arranged at Ashok Anil Theatre of Ulhasnagar one day before the film was being released. The Show was organised by Saeen Balram of Dharamdas Darbar, Ulhasnagar.
Prominent dignitaries of Ulhasnagar, Director Mohan Sachdev and many artistes of the Film graced the occassion.
The film is presented by Loveen arts, Nagpur. Rajesh Chhabrani, Pahlaj Sachani, Narayan Demble and Vinod Ramani are producers of the film.
The film is out and out comedy written by Kishor Lalwani and Directed by Mohan Sachdev.
Many drama artistes Aarti Jadwani, Jeetu Vazirani,Sanjay rohra, Rakesh Karda, Ashok PunjabiVijay Bhawnani (from Mumbai ), Gopal Khemani,Kishor Lalwani, Tulsi Setiya, Ashok Jeswani,Vinod Ramani,Naresh Mohnani, Laxman Thawani, Vijay Widhani ,Parso Chelani, (From Nagpur)have played their characters nicely.
The film is released by the same group which released the well marketed and successful film “vaeesara Ee Gum” which is still running in many cities.
September 1, 2010
By Haider Nizamani
AS many as 150 members of India’s 541-strong Lok Sabha (the equivalent of Pakistan’s National Assembly) have criminal records. More than 300 of these members are millionaires. More than 50 political parties have elected members in India’s national and provincial legislatures.
Corruption and crime are endemic in its political system. Yet none of these parties, from communists to communalists, can muster up the courage to invite the Indian armed forces to kick out the politicians and take up the reins of power in the country.
Pakistan is in a different league. Altaf Hussain, the long-distance leader of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), recently extended an invitation to the Pakistan Army’s ‘patriotic generals’ to come forward to remove feudal politicians and root out corruption from the country. When the invitation received more criticism than accolades, the MQM leader roped in the Supreme Court on Aug 28 to team up with the army to do the needful.
The MQM is a partner in the coalition at both the federal and provincial levels, and ordinarily a party in power requesting the undoing of the system would sound scandalous. On both counts, feudalism and corruption, history and the present realities suggest that the military is not the answer. ‘Feudalism’ is the term used by the MQM to refer to the country’s land-owning classes. Either Mr Hussain is politically naive and has little grasp on the country’s history, or worse, he issued the statement taking the cue from authoritarian forces. More importantly, the stance of the MQM in raking up the ghost of feudalism in the manner that it has shows the party’s lack of seriousness about putting in the hard political work needed to meaningfully confront the landed elite of Pakistan.
by Majid Maqsood, Karachi, Sindh
It’s not difficult to understand the remarks of MQM Chief Altaf Huusain, seeking military intervention in democratic Govt, because MQM has been the baby of Establishment and it has to be loyal with it, Pakistan getting aid from the World and pledges have been made for flood victims. Therefore, MQM cannot see democratic government to give relief to the flood victims of the country. Media has always been partial about MQM and they always project one side of party and always kept things under carpet.
A New Deal in Pakistan – By William Dalrymple
The province of Sindh in southern Pakistan is a rural region of dusty mudbrick villages, of white-domed blue-tiled Sufi shrines, and of salty desert scrublands broken, quite suddenly, by flood plains of wonderful fecundity. These thin, fertile belts of green—cotton fields, rice paddies, cane breaks, and miles of checkerboard mango orchards—snake along the banks of the Indus River as it meanders its sluggish, silted, café-au-lait way through the plains of Pakistan down to the shores of the Arabian Sea.
Read more >> The New York Review of Books
Sindh AG calls for scrapping of Objectives Resolution
“I would request the apex court to be very cautious for the sake of the future generation while deciding these petitions,” said Sindh’s Advocate General Yousuf Leghari to the Supreme Court.
ISLAMABAD: Sindh’s Advocate General Yousuf Leghari surprised the Supreme Court bench hearing challenges to the 18th Amendment in the Constitution on Monday when he said he was against the inclusion of the Objectives Resolution in the 1973 Constitution because it had been made the preamble to the constitution by rightists during the period of a military dictator.
The Objectives Resolution (OR) was passed by the First Constituent Assembly in March 12, 1949, after it was proposed by then prime minister Liaquat Ali Khan.
It envisages that the constitution of Pakistan will be democratic and based on the fundamental laws of Islam.
The resolution was inserted as the substantive part of the constitution through the Eighth Amendment when Gen Ziaul Haq was in power.
In a brief but bold stance taken before the court, the AG Sindh called for deleting the Objectives Resolutions from the constitution, saying it had been included in the constitution in a dubious manner because it was very difficult to maintain the alleged hegemony of a particular province, especially in the presence of the then East Pakistan which was in majority at that time.
He severely criticised the basic structure theory and said that the petitioners who had challenged the 18th Amendment and relied on the theory were trying for the revival of the law of necessity under which the Supreme Court had always validated unconstitutional steps taken by military dictators. “Federalism is the only basic structure of the constitution,” he emphasised. He alleged that the Supreme Court had constituted the 17-judge bench only to hand down a law which would be very difficult to be overruled in future.
“Therefore I would request the apex court to be very cautious for the sake of the future generation while deciding these petitions,” Mr Leghari said.
He was of the view that the court had no jurisdiction to entertain these challenges under its jurisdiction on the enforcement of the fundamental rights because not a mala fide act by the parliament to amend the Constitution and adopt the 18th Amendment.
Read more >> DAWN
By ASHRAF KHAN, Associated Press Writer
KARACHI, Pakistan – Floodwaters that have devastated Pakistan for five weeks headed to the Arabian Sea on Tuesday after swallowing two final towns, but the challenges of delivering emergency aid to 8 million people remained.
The floods have moved down from the mountainous northwest, submerging or affecting almost one-fifth of the country at their peak. Waters have begun to recede in the north and in the eastern province of Punjab, but they have been submerging towns in southern Sindh province close to the Indus River over the last 10 days.
The scale of the disaster has raised concerns about the stability of nuclear-armed Pakistan, which is already reeling from al-Qaida and Taliban violence and massive economic woes.
Read more >> YahooNews
London : Press Release – A remembrance meeting in London paid high tribute to Nawab Akber Bugti on his 4th martyrdom anniversary. The function was organized by the Baloch Human Rights Council (UK) and World Sindhi Congress in the London University Union Building on Sunday 29th August 2010. The meeting was presided over by the Baloch intellectual & writer and the Coordinator of Sindhi Baloch forum Dr. Naseer Dashti and was attended by a large number of Baloch, Sindhis and other human rights activists in the UK. Samad Baloch General Secretary BHRC (UK) conducted the proceedings of the meeting.
One minute silence was observed to pay respect to Nawab Bugti. A number of speakers paid tributes to Nawab Akber Bugti for his services to the Baloch and for sacrificing his life for the salvation of his nation.
Prominent among those who paid rich homage to the legendary Baloch leader included Dr. Lakhu Luhana, Mrs. Stella, Mir Aslam Buledi, Jamshed Amiri, Rahim Bandovi, Abdulla Baloch, Walid Garboni, Hashim Baloch, Mehrab Sarjovi, Ghulam Raza Hosseinbor, Dr. Haleem Bahtti, Mir Ghulam Hussain , Ms Suriya Makhdooom and Qadir Jatoi. The speakers urged the Baloch and Sindhi people to follow the legendary leader’s actions as the two nations are facing the most critical moment in their national history.
Continue reading Nawab Bugti Remembered by the Baloch and Sindhis in the UK
by Altaf Hussain, Hyderabad, Sindh
The deluge that brought immeasurable agony and destruction in the country was not unanticipated as China weather department had given forewarning of harsh monsoon months before the rains started. Whereas Sindh was even aware precisely about the magnitude of impending super floods as torrents which destroyed much of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and inundated southern Punjab was ultimately destined to discharge in Arabian Sea through river Indus.
Thus the super flood ultimately hit with full ferocity the fragile dykes of Sindh and inundated almost 1/3 of the province was not a surprise. Almost most of its northern districts have been submerged into flood waters leaving millions of people shelter less. Their only livelihood the standing crop and livestock has vanished. Once living contended in their huts and small houses since centuries these people are now nomads in their own homeland; malnourished sick and with no future in sight.
Now question arise as to who is responsible for the agony of millions of people? Although floods of high magnitude have pass through Indus system almost once in a decade but the scale of present destruction is unheard of in the history of floods. The reasons are obvious. Not only upkeep of protective Bunds was completely ignored and left to builders mafias to dig its gravel for construction, especially near big towns but the reverine forests existed on both sides of riverbed and used to protect the dykes were mercilessly slaughtered and virgin lands were allotted to influential people. They created there own dukes to protect their crops; one of the major cause of damaging the protective Bunds.
Obviously the maintenance and upkeep of Bunds is the sole responsibility of Provincial Irrigation Department. For which millions of rupees are allocated in the budget every year. The Irrigation Department not only failed to maintain the protective Bunds but when the crises unfolded abandoned its responsibility handing over maintenance to Pak Army. Now the senior irrigation people apart from justifying their failure sheepishly in talk shows are almost non existent on the sites.
The handing over safety of Bunds to Army at eleventh hour could not save millions of people from total ruin and obviously will not absolve Irrigation department from the destruction wrought by the river even in settled/pacca areas. This is clear cut case of dereliction on the part of irrigation department requiring independent judicial commission to fix guilt and take to task those howsoever powerful they may be who are found responsible.
The present regime, which claims to have roots in the masses, has to take immediate action against the culprits for whose negligence entire Sindh has suffered incalculable destruction.
August 29, 2010
KARACHI – Sindh government on Saturday issued orders for release and repatriation of 442 Indian fishermen, including two minors, to their country. …
Read more >> The Nation
Every news channel reported the alleged involvement of local feudal lords in diverting the flood to save their own lands but not even a single channel openly dared question how many villages were inundated to save Shahbaz Air Base?
Ever since its inception in 1978 just a year after the military coup spearheaded by General Zia, MQM (or its predecessor APMSO) has invoked controversies. Despite controversies, the MQM has always been a partner in every government one way or the other ever since 1988. Given the insecurity Muhajirs have felt in this country, the MQM furthers the interests of a certain class amongst the Urdu speaking population of Pakistan’s largest city while on the other hand, given the structure of politics in Pakistan where military and civil establishment has always been the decisive force, the MQM has always tried to maneuver a sort of win-win situation. This makes MQM an interesting case in Pakistani politics, a party popular and penetrating amongst its supporters and on the other hand a “front man” for establishment. It is only in this background that we can analyze the recent statement of Altaf Hussain regarding his “unconditional and open” support for a possible “martial law type” action intended to “purge” the political scene from “corrupt politicians” taken by “patriotic generals”.
Altaf’s party, as usual, is a coalition partner in the current set up but it seems all is not well for the MQM this time. Fight for control over Karachi has taken a new turn this time as we witness two provincial seats won by Pakhtoon nationalist Awami National Party (ANP) from Karachi. …
Read more >> ViewPoint
Pakistanis Scramble to Escape Floods
By CARLOTTA GALL
THATTA, Pakistan — This town had already been evacuated because of the threat of flooding, but it filled up again on Saturday with tens of thousands of people fleeing floodwaters that had inundated surrounding districts and villages after the Indus River broke its embankments in several places.
Families camped in front of the courthouse, in a park, in an ancient cemetery, in schools, at intersections and on scrub land for miles on the edge of the town. There was no organization to it: people tied their cattle to bushes, rigged up awnings with colored cloth on sticks or tipped rope beds on their ends to create shade from the stifling heat of 104 degrees. Within hours thousands more people had swarmed into the town, many of them on foot. …
Read more >> The New York Times
By Cyril Almeida
When gossip is your oxygen, expect all sorts of silly rumours to proliferate. And when politics is your national sport, the silliness tends to grow exponentially.
Like the monster hiding in the cupboard that parents use to scare their children, the government is being warned, ‘Shape up or Kayani will come and eat your dinner’. The MQM’s warning to the PPP has been lapped up by conspiracy theorists eager to see …
Read more >> DAWN
Local government says it can accommodate one million, but with some 30,000 in camps, ethnic tensions are rising
By TOM WRIGHT
KARACHI, Pakistan—Hundreds of thousands of refugees from Pakistan’s devastating floods are seeking shelter in this city of 18 million, exacerbating ethnic strife that has already escalated this year and threatens to destabilize the government of President Asif Ali Zardari.
Most of the refugees are ethnic Sindhis from areas outside Karachi, the capital of Sindh province, whose homes and livelihoods have been destroyed in the flooding that began more than three weeks ago.
Read more >> WALL STREET JOURNAL
Sijawal -Thatta : Nusrat Javed and Mustaq Minhaas, the reporters of Dunya TV are reporting that there is a breach in embankment of river near Sijawal and Bbano at Bbalo point in Thatto district and flood water is gushing into area from mighty Indus river (Sindhu river). Approximately, 2 to 4 million people are rushing from the area towards higher grounds. Evacuation of citizens are continue….
Courtesy: Dunya TV
Via >> Zem TV
>> Link
While the disaster management efforts of the present government in the wake of the massive floods are shoddy at best, to call for a quasi-military rule in a country that has suffered four martial laws is to submerge it in a bigger deluge
“Mussolini is the biggest bluffer in Europe. If Mussolini had me taken out and shot tomorrow morning, I would still regard him as a bluff. Get a hold of a good photo of Signor Mussolini sometime and study it. You will see the weakness in his mouth that forces him to scowl the famous Mussolini scowl that is imitated by every 19-year old Fascisto in Italy. Study his past record” — ‘Mussolini, Europe’s prize bluffer’, Earnest Hemingway, The Toronto Daily Star, 1923.
While the discussion about who breached which river embankment and why goes on, Pakistan’s prize bluffer has attempted to breach the bulwark of democracy itself.
The undisputed leader of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), Mr Altaf Hussain, has called for patriotic generals to take action similar to a martial law against corrupt politicians. Is this a cry for help from a bleeding heart or a vicious threat? The past record says it all. All the scowling, verbosity and thunder — part theatrics and part cheap imitation of the late Allama Rasheed Turabi — cannot hide an inherent insecurity that a chauvinist enterprise feels in a functional democracy.
Packaged to look like a statement made at the behest of the military brass, the sinister pot shot at democracy is a bluff by an arch-Bonapartist looking for a strongman to protect his fiefdom in southern Sindh. Add to it the August 20, 2010 meeting — a diplomatic routine — between Mr Hussain and the US State Department functionary, Bryan Hunt, and one has all sides thinking that the other wants a change of guard. But the timing could not be worse: Mr Hussain has added insult to the massive injury caused by the floods. On one occasion where the MQM had an opportunity to jettison its neo-fascist baggage and help the nation recover and rebuild, its leader has stuck to his myopic agenda pursued through intrigue.
Read more: → Daily Times
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/print.asp?page=20108%5C26%5Cstory_26-8-2010_pg3_2
Sindh Democratic Forum (SDF) has noted with grave concern, the statement made by MQM chief Altaf Hussain regarding imposition of martial law and has demanded that under article 6 of the constitution a case of high treason be lodged against him and he should be brought back to Pakistan through Interpol to face the charge.
SDF has expressed the surprise on the supporting statements of Pir Pagara and Imran Khan and says that these forces are the protégés of the agencies, created by military dictators like Ayub, Yahya, ZiaulHaq and Musharraf and they feel suffocated in the democratic rule in the country.
The present democratic system has come to the country after the great sacrifices of the people of Pakistan, where unfortunately nation has lost its finest daughter Benazir Bhutto and hundreds of other political workers and citizens in the war against military rule of Musharraf. Today MQM being partner of the democratic government is adding salt to the injuries and insulting the mandate of the millions of people of Pakistan who have voted for a democratic Pakistan.
SDF further expresses that Pakistan has faced complete destruction of democracy, political systems and constitutionalism in Pakistan at the hands of the military dictatorships especially under the martial laws which has weakened the federation and democratic process. The seed of hatred among the federating units and nations was sown by the military rules under martial laws. The separation of east Pakistan, the creation of one unit, conflict on water and natural resource distribution have also been the results of long military interventions in the country.
The critical challenges country is facing today including talibanisation, religious fundamentalism, sectarian and ethnic divide, rise to poverty, hunger, unemployment and corruption are the result of anti-people and anti-democratic rule in the country.
SDF resolves that the present style of governance is not satisfactory as there is not much progress on both internal and external fronts but this does not mean that army rule should be welcomed. It is only democratic government which is accountable to the people of Pakistan.
SDF says that the democracy and progress loving people of Pakistan has a firm believe that martial laws and dictatorship has never been a suitable alternate to democracy in any scenario and that’s why they keep on voting for democracy in the country and support peoples rule through political parties.
SDF welcomes the straight forward statement of PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif and says that he has spoken the sentiments of millions of peace and democracy loving people of Pakistan.
SDF shows great surprise over the hypocrite silence of PPP and asks the government to stop the so-called policy of reconciliation and get MQM out of the government at federal and provincial levels and demand removal of the signatures of MQM representatives from the documents of 18th amendment, which took oath that only rule of law, constitutionalism and democracy will be supreme in the country.
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