As the Pakistani state and society continue to respond to one of the worst natural disasters that hit the country in October, they are in a race against time on two related fronts. One, protecting the hundreds and thousands of women, children and men from death and disease that the harsh winter, unmet medical needs and shortage of clothing and food has already inflicting on them. Providing relief is a daunting task given the terrain that the suffering people inhabit. The most heavily damaged area consists of a very difficult terrain where about 80 percent of nearly 5.7 million affected people live. For most of the population basic services and facilities like clean drinking water and safe disposal of waste are not available. The earthquake has turned a difficult situation to a hellish one.
Linked to this challenge of reaching the people in dire need of relief is the challenge of resource mobilization. Already the UN is warning that because of funding shortages helicopters, the only lifeline for those stuck in the hilly terrain, will have to be grounded. According to their preliminary estimates by the government, the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, more than $5.2 billion is required for relief and rehabilitation; $3.5 billion for reconstruction and rehabilitation and $1.5 billion for immediate relief operations. Pakistan seeks another $400 million for relief already provided by diverted marked budgetary allocations.
The most pressing need is to acquire the $1.5 billion for immediate relief operations. There is a direct linkage between the nonavailability of these funds and increase in the death and suffering of the devastated people. Hence failure is not an option.
There are internal and external sources to be tapped. Despite the generous material support from many governments and special efforts by countries like the United States, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and China, it is unlikely that all these funds will be forthcoming from the international community.
As for the internal government and nongovernmental sources, the government’s efforts to systematically mobilize funds from internal sources have not yet surfaced. There has been consistent appreciation, within and outside of Pakistan, of the incredible compassion and generosity displayed by the ordinary people in Pakistan in the wake of the earthquake. However Pakistani society’s tremendous potential to financially contribute to relief and reconstruction has yet to be recognized by the government. Reportedly 5.7 billion rupees was pledged locally while 5.4 billion rupees had been deposited in the banks. As for the government, President Musharraf’s decision not to spend scarce resources on buying the multibillion-dollar F-16s from the US has been welcomed by all.
Other areas for budgetary cuts, especially in the operations of Pakistan’s civilian and military bureaucracies, must be explored. For example annual military exercises due shortly and which involve millions of rupees of POL could be postponed. Clearly postponement of these exercises is unlikely to undermine the professionalism of Pakistan Army, one of the finest in the world.
The priority in the immediate context has to be to end the suffering and ensure the rehabilitation of the millions of our people. Clearly the planned project of constructing a new GHQ, with the projected cost of billions of dollars, must be put on hold.
The government needs to undertake an exercise immediately in time for presentation at the Nov. 19 donor conference outlining specific steps it is taking to mobilize Pakistani resources to meet the immediate and medium-long term reconstruction needs. Equally critical is the step the government is already taking, that of ensuring transparency in the receipt and expenditure of the funds it is receiving.
This is essential if we are to tap greater Pakistani resources and also to inspire others to contribute more generously to help us successfully meet the challenge of relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction.
