Soldiers and aid workers struggled yesterday to reach at least one million people cut off by landslides that have complicated relief efforts after the worst floods in Pakistan in 80 years.
Poor weather has grounded relief helicopters, and more rain was expected to compound the misery of more than 13 million people – about 8 per cent of the population – whose lives have been disrupted by the floods, two million homeless among them. The floods have killed more than 1,600 people.
In the Swat Valley, northwest of Islamabad, soldiers and aid workers are using mules or travelling on foot to reach people in desperate need of help.
The catastrophe has put unpopular president Asif Ali Zardari on the defensive while raising the profile of the military, which is spearheading relief efforts.
The floods, which began 10 days ago after heavy monsoon rain over the upper reaches of the Indus river basin, have left a swathe of destruction more than 1,000km (600 miles) long between the north and the southern province of Sindh. While floodwaters have begun to recede in some parts of the north, water-logged mountainsides long-stripped of forest cover have begun to slide in some areas, isolating communities.
“We have brought in 130 mules to take food supplies to the cut-off valleys,” said an army spokesman in Swat, Maj Mushtaq Khan, adding bad weather had grounded helicopters for the past two days.
“About one million people are stranded because the main road link has been severed . . . We believe that most stocks villagers had have been exhausted, and they need supplies.”
Mr Zardari’s decision to go ahead with official trips to Europe during the crisis has renewed criticism of his leadership. The military has taken the lead in relief efforts, while the government is under fire for perceived dithering.
The president is expected to return by mid-week.
Analysts say there is no chance that the military, which has vowed to stay out of politics and is preoccupied with fighting militants, will try to seize power.
The United Nations said that – in terms of the number of people who have lost their homes or livelihoods and will need short- or long-term help – the latest floods have been worse than the 2004 tsunami, which killed 236,000 people around the Indian Ocean.
In Punjab province, army helicopters rescued people and their livestock from rooftops in Mehmood Kot village, a scene being played out in many parts of the country.
In some instances soldiers have been frustrated by people’s reluctance to leave their homes.
“When we try to take them, they say they don’t want to leave and instead they demand food. We have to fly again to bring food. This is a major problem for us,” Lieut Col Salman Rafiq said.
One woman gave birth to twin boys in her flooded house in the town of Sanawa. Neighbours carried the woman and her babies on a rope bed through the flood to a helicopter.
US officials are also concerned about the damage caused by the weak government response to the floods, and mounting hostility toward Mr Zardari.
Pakistan is a key US ally whose help Washington needs to end the insurgency by Taliban militants in Afghanistan.
Heavy rain has also hit India. Military helicopters plucked about 150 foreign tourists to safety in the Himalayan region of Ladakh, where flash floods have killed 156 people.