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Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Floods destroy crops in Pakistan

The devastation caused by flash floods in Pakistan is likely to result in severe food shortage across the country in the next couple of months as crops spread over 10 million acres have been destroyed. In Punjab alone, cotton, sugarcane and other crops worth more than Rs.80 billion have been destroyed because of flooding. Punjab, being the largest and most fertile province, is the largest food provider as well. In Sindh, crops have been completely washed away and the urban areas have already started feeling the pinch. Prices of fruits and vegetable have already gone up because of the shortage as the supply from troubled areas of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Sindh has dried up. Wheat godowns of the government in several areas have also been inundated. Hoarding by traders in the month of Ramadan has made the situation even worse. The federal government apparently is contemplating the need to import certain food items to meet the crunch. However, no decision in this regard has yet been taken. Livestock numbering in thousands have died or have been starving due to shortage of fodder. In a country where more than 70 percent population lives in rural areas, livestock is a major source of earning. It also supplies a large chunk of meat and milk to urban areas. Chief Minister of Punjab Shahbaz Sharif has said that small farmers having up to 25 acres of land will be provided seeds and fertilizers free of cost. He said that efforts were also being undertaken to provide fodder to the cattle so that the livestock industry could be sustained.

Generals better than politicians: MQM

At a time when the political class is under attack from all quarters — particularly the media — for the poor response to the floods, ruling coalition constituent and Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain on Sunday said his party would “support the patriotic generals if they take any martial law-type action against corrupt politicians and feudal lords''.  At a workers convention in Karachi over telephone from London — as is his wont — Mr. Hussain said the generals had directly or indirectly ruled Pakistan through martial laws in clear violation of the mandate of millions. “If these generals can topple political and democratic governments, they can also take steps to weed out corrupt politicians and feudal lords,'' he said in a speech that was also critical of Pakistan's foreign policy as it was ineffective in comparison to India's. Most political parties were quick to criticise Mr. Hussain's statement with Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) leader Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan stating that the Supreme Court ought to take suo motu notice of this observation. Sherry Rehman, former federal Information Minister from the PPP — with which the MQM is allied not only at the federal level but also in Sindh — described the statement as inappropriate in a country where democracy has been derailed so often. “Governments can always be criticised without challenging the institutional premise of democracy,'' she said.