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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Pakistan floods may aid rebels

Zardari worries about Islamists

Nahal Toosi Associated Press

ISLAMABAD – Islamist terrorists may exploit the chaos and misery caused by the floods in Pakistan to gain new recruits, the country’s president warned Thursday – remarks echoed by a leading U.S. senator who said America would stand by its vital wartime ally during the crisis.

The floods have affected 20 million people and about one-fifth of Pakistan’s territory, straining its civilian government as it also struggles against al-Qaida and Taliban violence. Aid groups and the United Nations have complained that foreign donors have not been quick or generous enough given the scale of the disaster.

“All these catastrophes give strength to forces who do not want a state structure,” President Asif Ali Zardari said during a press conference with John Kerry, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, after the two visited some of the country’s hardest-hit areas and a relief camp.

“There is a possibility that the negative forces would exploit the situation,” Zardari said. “Like they would take the babies who have been made orphans and take them to their camps and train them as the terrorists of tomorrow.”

Zardari’s government has been criticized for failing to respond quickly enough, and Islamist charities – at least one of which has alleged links to terrorism – have been active in the flood-hit areas.

There also are concerns the scale of the suffering could stoke unrest and political instability that may distract nuclear-armed Pakistan from the fight against the Taliban. Already, the military has had to divert thousands of soldiers and a good deal of equipment from battling the militancy to rescuing flood victims.

“None of us want to see this crisis to provide an opportunity or an excuse for people who want to exploit the misery of others for political or ideological purpose, and so it is important for all of us to work overtime,” Kerry said.

More than three weeks after the floods first began, the U.S., Germany and Saudi Arabia all announced new pledges of aid, while Japan said it would send helicopters to help distribute food, water and medicine. The Asian Development Bank said it would redirect $2 billion of existing and planned loans for reconstruction.

“If we don’t do it quick, if we don’t do it well, what will the Pakistani people think?” asked Juan Miranda, the development bank’s director general for Central and West Asia. “We have to put every road and every bridge back into the shape where they should be.”

The United States has dispatched 19 Army helicopters to hard-hit areas and given other aid worth $90 million. Kerry said the monetary assistance would increase to $150 million.

Pakistan is vital for America’s strategic goals of defeating militancy and stabilizing neighboring Afghanistan so its troops can one day withdraw. Before the floods, Washington had already committed to spending $7.5 billion over the next five years on humanitarian projects in Pakistan.

That money already included plans to deal with infrastructure, water and power problems in Pakistan, and Kerry said at least $200 million would now be refocused toward tackling challenges in those and other areas directly posed by flooding.

The floods began in the northwest of the country after exceptionally heavy monsoon rains and have since swamped thousands of towns and villages in Punjab and Sindh provinces. While rainfall has lessened, flooding is continuing in parts of Sindh province as water from the north courses down the Indus and other rivers.