A Very Sad Independence Day For Pakistan – Floods Of Unprecedented Magnitude In Pakistan Causing Death & Destruction Not Seen Before
By Sikander Hayat
Today is 14th of August, the day when in 1947 Pakistan won its independence from Britain. 64 years have passed and Pakistan has made a lot of progress in all fields of life. Today should have been a day when Pakistanis felt happy but floods of a magnitude not seen in Pakistan’s history since 1908 have made this
day a day for contemplation instead of celebration. There are millions of people on the move in Pakistan who have lost their homes in Baluchistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, Sindh, Gilgit Baltistan and Azad Kashmir. Pakistan is facing unprecedented hardship at this moment in time and they require all the help they can get from the wider world.
This was the harvest time in Pakistan but rising waters did not
give anyone a chance to salvage anything, the lucky ones barely escaped with their lives. Pakistan is the gift of Indus just as the Egypt is the gift of Nile but this time Indus is angry. At its widest, the river banks have swollen upto 20 kilometres with forecasters saying that next three weeks are very dangerous indeed.
Pakistanis in all regions have been equally effected which is hampering any effort inside Pakistan to mount a rescue mission like the one seen after the Azad Kashmir earth quake. On that occasion disaster area although large but confined to northern Pakistan. The sheer scale of disaster this time has made
everyone in the country go numb and everyone is still trying to come to terms with the scale of death, destruction & displacement. In the areas where water is stagnant now, people are facing death by cholera and other water carried diseases. May the God help them in this hour of pain and misery but all this makes a very sad Independence Day indeed.
Related Posts:
1. Pakistan Floods - Thousands Dead, Millions Displaced
2. Pakistan Floods Update
3. Poor Indian Flood Victims Face Caste Discrimination
Today is 14th of August, the day when in 1947 Pakistan won its independence from Britain. 64 years have passed and Pakistan has made a lot of progress in all fields of life. Today should have been a day when Pakistanis felt happy but floods of a magnitude not seen in Pakistan’s history since 1908 have made this
day a day for contemplation instead of celebration. There are millions of people on the move in Pakistan who have lost their homes in Baluchistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, Sindh, Gilgit Baltistan and Azad Kashmir. Pakistan is facing unprecedented hardship at this moment in time and they require all the help they can get from the wider world. This was the harvest time in Pakistan but rising waters did not
give anyone a chance to salvage anything, the lucky ones barely escaped with their lives. Pakistan is the gift of Indus just as the Egypt is the gift of Nile but this time Indus is angry. At its widest, the river banks have swollen upto 20 kilometres with forecasters saying that next three weeks are very dangerous indeed. 
Pakistanis in all regions have been equally effected which is hampering any effort inside Pakistan to mount a rescue mission like the one seen after the Azad Kashmir earth quake. On that occasion disaster area although large but confined to northern Pakistan. The sheer scale of disaster this time has made
everyone in the country go numb and everyone is still trying to come to terms with the scale of death, destruction & displacement. In the areas where water is stagnant now, people are facing death by cholera and other water carried diseases. May the God help them in this hour of pain and misery but all this makes a very sad Independence Day indeed. Related Posts:
1. Pakistan Floods - Thousands Dead, Millions Displaced
2. Pakistan Floods Update
3. Poor Indian Flood Victims Face Caste Discrimination
the situation cannot be remedied in a few days or months,it is indeed the biggest natural disaster faced by Pakistan, but what makes it so tragic is that the world, the international media has not responded to this disaster as would have been expected. It is indeed extremely tragic that the world cannot keep its personal prejudices to themselves and have condemned Pakistanis to suffer the consequences of a natural disaster, and have even forgotten their duty as humans. And the worst part is that it is not even the fault of any Pakistani.
ReplyDeleteHi Naima Saqib,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment. I agree with most of what you have said but there is a degree to which Pakistanis are responsible for their plight as well. We keep electing otherwise corrupt & inept politician who instead of serving Pakistan serve their own greed. Unless all Pakistanis take personal responsibility to not elect the biggest crook in any given constituency, nothing will get better.