Zardari loses favour as Pak floods worsen

Sukkur: Heavy rains are expected to lash areas of Pakistan that are already devastated by the worst floods in 80 years. This calamity is likely to be intensified and hence has cast increasing doubts about the leadership of President Asif Ali Zardari.

"We're forecasting widespread rains in the country, especially in flood-affected areas," said Qamar-uz-Zaman Chaudhry, director general of the department, adding that the downpours are expected in the next two days.

At least 1,600 people have been killed in the floods. The National Disaster Management Authority said 12 million people have been affected in two provinces hit by the floods and figures were not yet available for southern Sindh.

The floods have evoked intense popular anger at Zardari, who was not present in Pakistan as it faced this terrible natural disaster. Zardari went ahead with state visits to Europe at the height of the disaster, while the floods swallowed up entire villages.

"This trip seems to have been the litmus test, and any benefit of the doubt that the president had remaining in his favour, has now entirely ceased to exist in the eyes of the public," said Fasi Zaka, a radio talk show host and columnist.

The floods have also inundated crop-producing areas, dealing a crippling blow to the agricultural-based economy.

Floods are expected to heavily damage mainly rural areas in Sindh after roaring down from the northwest and through the central agricultural heartland of Punjab, along a 1,000 km path.

Many Pakistanis were already critical of Zardari's leadership of a country where militants still pose a security threat despite offensives, poverty is widespread and corruption is rampant.

US officials, aware of the impact hurricane Katrina had on the fortunes of former President George W Bush, have privately expressed frustration with Zardari's refusal to return to Pakistan and personally handle the crisis.

Pakistan is a key US ally, and its stability is seen as crucial to battling a nine-year Taliban insurgency in neighbouring Afghanistan.

Food supplies are becoming a serious issue in some areas. In many areas, drinking water wells are also full of mud. UN officials said more than half a million people had been evacuated in Sindh so far, and the province risked more flooding.

Zardari absent

One Punjab village saw a mass exodus, as families piled carts, pulled by camels or tractors, with their livestock, belongings and relatives and headed for higher ground.

Some people were reluctant to leave their collapsed villages for safer ground. "I didn't intend to leave but they sent me out forcibly. I don't know what will happen to my hens," said an elderly woman in a village who was evacuated by boats.

Zardari is currently in Britain for a visit, where he and Prime Minister David Cameron pledged to do more together to fight Islamist militancy, brushing aside a diplomatic spat that followed British criticism of Pakistani efforts in countering extremism.

Many Pakistanis, however, were not impressed.

"Our president prefers to go abroad rather than supervising the whole relief operation in such a crisis," said Ghulam Rasool, a resident of the town of Sukkur. "They don't care about us. They have their own agendas and interests."

Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani, addressing the nation for the first time since the disaster struck, appealed for international aid. He has also visited several flooded areas.

"At this time of crisis, I would like to appeal to the international community to support Pakistan to help alleviate the suffering of the flood-affected people," Gilani said.

With the army spearheading the relief efforts, it reinforces the view that civilian administrations are unable to cope with the impending crisis, leaving the powerful military in charge.

The military, which has ruled Pakistan for more than half of its history, is unlikely to make a grab for power.

For one, analysts say, it is preoccupied with the threat of Taliban insurgents who have survived several army offensives.

Islamabad is also heavily dependent on western countries such as the United States, which wants a stable Pakistan to help end the war in Afghanistan.

Across the country, Pakistanis fended for themselves.

Many are out in the open and are likely to be displaced again, just like cattle-breeder Khair Mohammad. "We don't have anything, no one has given us even a single penny," he said, standing under a rain that had not stopped all morning.