At a time when the Sharif government is still facing a tsunami of protesters in Islamabad, massive floods have swept through Pakistan once again. The floods have displaced thousands of people and led to over 200 casualties in the widely ravaged regions of Kashmir and Punjab.
Experts estimate that the floods could eventually cause a loss of up to $2 billion and cause a significant economic slowdown. Supply side constraints due to widespread damage to agricultural sector and weak manufacturing activity in Pakistan may push up inflation, and adversely impact the country’s other macroeconomic indicators. The flash floods in 2010 dragged down Pakistan’s economic growth to just 2.6 percent against a target of 4.5 percent as all major sectors of the economy, including fertilizer, textiles and oil and gas, could not escape devastation.
Given the recent political turmoil, it came as no surprise that major political parties are scoring points by sympathizing with the flood victims. Leaders of the ruling PML-N, including Sharif brothers, toured the flooded plains of Punjab to assess the scale of damage and direct relief efforts. Even as the government distributed aid among victims, it faced complaints related to the flood mitigation system, pace of relief work, and were questioned about what could have been done to prevent colossal loss of lives and property in the first place. As the flood victims expressed their frustration with an inefficient system, the time was ripe for Imran Khan to gain political ground in these disaster hit areas. Khan also took some time off from the sit-in protests in Islamabad to visit disaster hit areas. Enjoying a recent surge in political clout, he was cheered for rallying public support and in, some instances, highlighting stories of official negligence.
Pakistan is on the brink of a national emergency and it is imperative that everyone stands united to aid the flood victims. This is a time to set political differences aside and assist the relief operations. Keeping in mind the nation’s response to 2010 floods, there should be no doubt that Pakistan has the ability to disregard political loyalties and step up relief efforts to rehabilitate flood victims. More importantly, Pakistan urgently needs to build national consensus on building large-scale dams, such as Kalabagh project, to avert such frequent flooding disasters in future. These reservoirs will not only enhance Pakistan’s water storage capacity to prevent famine-like situations, but also contribute much-needed cheap hydro-power to the national grid.
Like Pakistan, India is also reeling under floods as the natural calamity has caused extensive damage in the Jammu and Kashmir region. In what is being termed as “flood diplomacy,” leaders of both India and Pakistan have offered to extend each other relief and rescue support. The exchange of sympathies could help the bitter rivals break ice and achieve a thaw in their bilateral relations. The willingness to support each other in a crisis situation is an encouraging development after the recent cancelation of secretary level talks by India and aggravation of hostilities across the Line of Control (LoC). Although neither of the two parties have accepted the offer for aid, it is hoped that the natural disaster would help them bring closer and reduce the simmering tension on humanitarian basis.
