Weeks after floodwaters first ravaged Pakistan, international aid to the country has “slowed to a trickle,” according to news reports. This is unacceptable from a humanitarian perspective — thousands will die from disease and starvation. It also will have long-term diplomatic consequences as the already weak Islamabad government is further destabilized and radical groups step in to provide assistance and leadership.
An area the size of England had been covered by water from the rains, which began a month ago. Millions of acres of cropland have been destroyed and millions of people remain homeless.
The immediate task is to get food and water to those staying in makeshift camps or the rubble of their former homes. The slow pace of aid delivery has led to protests.
Nearly $300 million in aid from international sources has been raised, according to the United Nations, which is coordinating relief effort. The World Bank has pledged a $1 billion fund, and the International Monetary Fund has said it will send $450 million.
These add up to a tiny fraction of the $43 billion government officials estimate will be needed to rebuild the country’s destroyed infrastructure.
With so much farmland underwater, starvation is a major worry. In addition, Pakistan was Asia’s third-largest grower of wheat. The revenue from wheat exports was an important part of the economy, and farming employs about two-thirds of the country’s work force. Without income, these farmers are likely to go hungry and, in their desperation to support their families, are more likely to be radicalized.
Earlier this month, Sen. Susan Collins said the slow response to the unfolding humanitarian crisis from governments around the world is dangerous for this very reason. “I am very worried that this threatens Pakistan’s stability and creates an opening for the Taliban.” The first priority, she said, is humanitarian aid, but such assistance must be more quickly coordinated and delivered.
The charitable arm of Lashkar-e-Taiba, which carried out the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attack, was serving meals to victims and providing them with clothing, medicine and even money. A fundamentalist boarding school that proudly counts senior Taliban among its alumni has converted itself into a shelter and is giving meals, electricity and medical treatment to at least 2,500 victims.
“There is already evidence that such activities are earning these groups public support from Pakistanis,” Marisa Porges, who was an adviser in the defense and treasury departments, wrote in a recent Wall Street Journal column.
While the aid offered by such groups is crucial to the well-being of many Pakistanis, growing support for militant organizations will complicate U.S. relations with Pakistan, making it difficult to stabilize neighboring Afghanistan.