Ban Ki Moon tours Pakistan flood-affected

Nksagar - Sagar Media - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon arrived in Pakistan on Sunday to boost relief efforts as concerns grew about the 20 million people made homeless in one of the worst disasters to hit the country.Pakistan has is worst flood swollen by torrential monsoon rains, rivers have flooded mountain valleys fertile plains, wiping out villages and destroying bridges and roads. UN aid of quarter of the $US459 million aid needed for initial relief has arrived.

(live-PR.com) - Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and Federal Interior Minister Rehman A Malik received the UN’s top official at Chaklala airport of federal capital.Talking to media, Ban started his conversation with As-Salam-o-Alaikum. Ban said he came to Pakistan to express solidarity with the flood-affected people and the UN will tap into all possible resources for the succor of the flood affected.


Floof Authorities said more flood surges were coursing down the River Indus and other waterways in southern Sindh province and were expected to peak later Sunday, causing fresh deluges. The river, which in better times irrigates the crops of millions of farmers, is 15 miles (25 kilometers) wide at some points — 25 times wider than during normal monsoon seasons.The United Nations said the rate of diarrheal disease continued to increase among survivors. Cholera, which can spread rapidly after floods and other disasters, had also been detected in the northwest, where the floods first hit more than two weeks ago.

PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif has cautioned against any hindrance in the formation of the body and said the nation cannot afford “any delay in the setting up of the commission. Finance Minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Senator Ishaq Dar have been assigned the task of working out modalities for the formation of an independent commission to oversee relief and rehabilitation operations in the flood-hit areas.The two parties agreed on Saturday to set up the commission. Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani had declared at a news conference with the PML-N chief on Saturday that the government had agreed to Mr Sharif’s proposal for setting up an independent body comprising men of integrity to collect and distribute relief funds among the flood-affected people in a transparent manner.

Mr Gilani held a meeting with Dr Sheikh on Sunday and “directed him to work expeditiously” on the plan which, according to him, would help win the confidence of the people of Pakistan and foreign donors.About 1,500 people have died in the disaster and more than 7.9 million acres (3.2 million hectares) of cotton, sugar cane and wheat crops destroyed. The International Monetary Fund has warned of dire economic consequences in a country already reliant on foreign aid to keep its economy afloat and one key to the U.S.-led war against al-Qaida and the Taliban.

U.N. chief Ban was to visit flood-devastated areas Sunday and meet with government officials, a spokesman said.

The United States has so far donated the most to the relief effort, at least $70 million, and has sent military helicopters to rescue stranded people and drop off food and water. Washington hopes the assistance will support a pivotal regional ally and help improve its image in the country — however marginally — as it seeks its support in the battle against militancy,

"So far, if anyone has practically given us maximum help, it is America," Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said when a Pakistani reporter suggested the U.S. has done little since the crisis started.

Two additional U.S. Navy MH-53E Sea Dragon helicopters arrived in Pakistan on Saturday to support flood relief efforts, the U.S. State Department said. That brings to seven the total number of aircraft in Pakistan from the USS Peleliu, which is positioned in international waters in the Arabian Sea.

In the northwest of the country, U.S. missiles killed 12 people Saturday in a Pakistani tribal region filled with insurgents bent on pushing Western troops out of neighboring Afghanistan. The strike was the first in several weeks.

The Pakistani government's reputation — already shaky to begin with — has suffered during the crisis, especially after the president decided to visit Europe as the crisis was unfolding. President Asif Ali Zardari has tried to make up for that public relations gaffe by meeting with flood victims in hard-hit areas since returning.

"We are with you. Pakistan is with you, and the people of Pakistan are with you," he told survivors at a relief camp in the northwest's Nowshera city Saturday. He promised the government would rebuild victims' homes.

The 220 KVA grid station at Lodra tripped on Sunday, causing suspension of power supply to more than 20 districts in Sindh and Balochistan.The tripping occurred after water from a number of breaches in the Begari canal inundated the power station.

The floodwater washed away paddy and other crops on thousands of acres but irrigation officials and local administration have managed to save Shikarpur city and gas transmission station after digging ducts under the Shikarpur-Jacobabad railway line near Lodra village.The station supplies power to 14 grid stations in Sindh and three in Balochistan.The water is now moving to Golodero forest area and villages in Garhi Yasin, Khanpur, Shikarpur and Lakhi talukas.
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