Brothers Among 3 Brussels Suicide Attackers

Brothers in crime (Credit: rt.com)
Brothers in crime
(Credit: rt.com)

BRUSSELS, March 23 — The Brussels suicide bombers included two Belgium-born brothers with a violent criminal past and suspected links to plotters of the Islamic State’s Paris attacks last November, the authorities said on Wednesday, raising new alarms about Europe’s leaky defenses against a militant organization that has terrorized two European capitals with seeming impunity.

One of the brothers was deported by Turkey back to Europe less than a year ago, Turkey’s president said, suspected of being a terrorist fighter intent on entering Syria, where the Islamic State is based. Despite that statement, Belgian officials said neither brother had been under suspicion for terrorism until recently, an indication of the Islamic State’s ability to remain steps ahead of European intelligence and security monitors.

At least 31 people as well as the suicide bombers died on Tuesday in the blasts — two at the Brussels international airport departure terminal from homemade bombs hidden in luggage, and one at a subway station about seven miles away in the heart of Brussels. The number of wounded climbed to 300 from 270 on Wednesday as the area slowly sought to recover from one of the deadliest peacetime assaults in Belgium’s history.

“The European values of democracy and of freedom are what was savagely assaulted by these tragic attacks,” Prime Minister Charles Michel said after meeting with his French counterpart, Manuel Valls, who said, “Our two peoples are united in this hardship.”

Many Belgians attended memorials and others stayed home from work. Subway service was reduced and the airport, now a crime scene, was to remain closed at least through Thursday. And new evidence emerged of how the magnitude of the attacks could have been far worse.

The authorities recovered two undetonated bombs at the airport that had been constructed with 20 to 40 pounds of a volatile compound known as TATP — an explosive also used in the Paris attacks — combined with ammonium nitrate and metal bolts and nails, according to an American official who had reviewed intelligence shared by Belgium. The official said they also recovered what the Belgians called a suicide belt at the site, and found two more bombs concealed in suitcases, similar to those recovered at the airport, at the residence where the bombers hailed a taxi before Tuesday morning’s attacks.

As of Wednesday evening, the police were still hunting for at least one other member of the Brussels bombing ring, a man in a white coat and dark hat seen pushing a luggage cart in an airport surveillance photo, who was believed to have escaped before the explosions. They were also trying to determine if the other suicide bomber at the airport was Najim Laachraoui, 24, a Belgian believed to be a bomb maker, who has been linked to the Paris attacks.

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There were indications that the Brussels bombers may have acted out of urgency because they feared discovery after the arrest on Friday in Belgium of the only remaining survivor among the Paris attackers, Salah Abdeslam, who is said to be cooperating with the authorities.

The Belgian prosecutor said the authorities found a recently composed will — which was possibly a suicide note — of the elder brother involved in the Brussels bombing, Ibrahim el-Bakraoui, 29, on a discarded computer in a garbage can. The will expressed his fear of being caught and ending up in a prison cell.

Mr. Bakraoui and the unidentified bomber blew themselves up at the Brussels airport at 7:58 a.m. Tuesday, in two explosions nine seconds apart. At 9:11 a.m., his younger brother, Khalid el-Bakraoui, 27, carried out the suicide attack at the Maelbeek subway station.

While the Belgian authorities have been credited with acting quickly in the aftermath of the assaults, there were growing questions about whether they had also suffered an enormous intelligence lapse.

The most prominent question arose from assertions by Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, that his government had detained Ibrahim el-Bakraoui near the Syrian border on June 14, alerted the Belgian government that he “was a foreign terrorist fighter,” and then deported him to the Netherlands.

“Despite our warnings that this person was a foreign terrorist fighter, the Belgian authorities could not identify a link to terrorism,” Mr. Erdogan said at a news conference in Ankara.

Justice Minister Koen Geens of Belgium acknowledged that Mr. Bakraoui had been deported to Europe last year, but he told the VRT broadcasting service that he was not known to the Belgian authorities for terrorism but was a common criminal who had been given conditional release from prison.

In his own news conference, Frédéric Van Leeuw, the Belgian federal prosecutor, described the trail that led investigators to identify the brothers.

After the attacks, a taxi driver who suspected that he may have driven the bombers to the airport approached the police and led them to a house on Rue Max Roos, in the Schaerbeek neighborhood of Brussels, where he said he had picked up three men, according to Mr. Van Leeuw. There, the prosecutor said, the authorities found about 33 pounds of TATP, considered a large amount.

At the apartment in Schaerbeek, investigators also found nearly 40 gallons of acetone and nearly eight gallons of hydrogen peroxide. Acetone, a solvent in nail polish remover, and hydrogen peroxide, found in hair bleach, are among the ingredients used to make TATP. The investigators also found detonators, a suitcase full of nails and screws, and other materials that could be used to make explosive devices.

On Wednesday, the Belgian police raided a building in the Anderlecht neighborhood of Brussels. Officers in protective clothing carted out files and plastic boxes as masked officers stood guard outside. Two police officers in the neighborhood said an arrest had been made, but the identity of that person was not clear.

Several Belgian news outlets reported last week that the Bakraoui brothers, who grew up in the working-class Laeken neighborhood, were wanted for questioning in connection with a March 15 raid on an apartment in the Brussels suburb of Forest, which had been linked to the Paris attacks. It was not clear why the authorities did not formally ask the public to help find them.

Ibrahim el-Bakraoui was sentenced in 2010 to nine years in prison for shooting at police officers after a robbery attempt at a currency exchange office. It was not clear when or why he was released, or how he ended up in Turkey.

In 2011, Khalid el-Bakraoui was sentenced to five years in prison for attempted carjacking; when arrested, he was in possession of assault rifles. Interpol issued a warrant for him in August after he violated his parole. He is believed to have used a false name to rent a safe house in Charleroi, Belgium, and the apartment in Forest. Fingerprints belonging to two of the Paris attackers, Abdelhamid Abaaoud and Bilal Hadfi, were found in the Charleroi house on Dec. 9, and Mr. Abdeslam’s prints were found in the Forest apartment.

Speaking on Belgian radio on Wednesday morning, Interior Minister Jan Jambon said that the police raids would continue, and that the threat status would remain at its highest, Level, 4. “There are many hypotheses to put on the table,” he said. “It’s up to investigators to sort out fact from fiction.”

Speaking later to RTL radio, Mr. Jambon said it was also unlikely that the attacks could have been avoided even if Belgium had been at the highest threat level instead of Level 3, which was imposed after the Paris attacks.

He said Belgium had “everything possible in place to avoid a catastrophe like what happened yesterday, like other countries.”

Areas like the Brussels airport departure hall are particularly vulnerable because, as at most Western airports, bags are not searched until after check-in. That allows a would-be attacker to pack a bomb into a suitcase that could have far more space than an explosive vest and therefore be far more lethal.

In terrorism-plagued countries like Afghanistan and Iraq, and across the Middle East, bags are put through scanners when travelers enter the airport.

ATDT Website Completes One Year in September 2012

This website completes one year on September 11, 2012. That coincides with the 11th anniversary of the biggest terrorist attacks on US soil – and which have also turned into America’s longest serving war.

The 9/11 attacks fetched me an offer by a US based publishing giant to write a book on Pakistan. For me, the motivation to write a book was always present. However, to write a book through the prism of how the West sees Pakistan or to pander to stereotypes of how emancipated I felt as a woman emerging from a Muslim society… would have defeated my original motivation.

And so, ‘Aboard the Democracy Train,’ is a nuanced book that seeks to both educate and inform global audiences about Pakistan’s inside story. Doubtless, the Western reader today is far more informed about the Pak-Afghan region than before it went to war in Afghanistan. However, even while Pakistan’s geography has been critical to its destiny, the country is so much more than an epicenter for the 9/11 attacks or a conduit for bringing the Taliban to power in neighboring Afghanistan

This website has brought Pakistanis and Americans (and readers from some 60 countries around the world)  to catch up on the region’s current affairs. That is a testimony to openness among individuals, ready to go beyond the mainstream media to non traditional internet resources. As someone invested on both sides of the Atlantic, I see the website as a means of promoting greater understanding between people around the globe.

Eleven years to date, the US is now focused on bringing the troops back home and rebuilding its stressed economy. A badly battered Pakistan seeks to foster trade ties with its neighbors. With the world community involved in the US’s longest war, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that the longer the war, the greater its toll. In particular, the three nations most involved, the US, Afghanistan and Pakistan have the greatest to lose. If greater numbers of US soldiers returning from war are committing suicide or suffer post traumatic stress disorder, the war has shattered the lives of millions of Pak-Afghan people for generations to come.

But as nations turn inward to pursue their policies of self interest, its absolutely critical that people don’t scapegoat peoples of other ethnicities, nationalities or faith, in tribal vendetta or failed policies of their governments. This is where education safeguards against agent provocateurs who use religion to drive a wedge between people.  Submitting to such provocateurs, as is happening in the Middle East, only  breeds terrorism, wars and a state of perpetual conflict. Despite its advanced state of evolution, if humanity continuously engages in this type of behavior,  it will only drive its own kind of species toward extinction.

This is where the internet and constructive websites bring people across the globe to understand the “other.”

Bhambore – Crossroad of Ancient Trade Route to China & Middle East

Bhambore sea route - flicker.com

KUDOS to Sindh’s culture department for holding a series of moots at heritage sites to highlight the latter’s significance. The latest conference held last week at Bhambore with participation from national and international scholars and local citizens was part of the effort to draw public attention to the province’s rich heritage. The ruins at Bhambore date back, arguably, to at least the early eighth century CE when the young Arab general Mohammad Bin Qasim conquered the port city of Deebal after a battle with a local raja.

Excavated pottery and building structures at the site reveal that it was indeed a thriving city located at a crossroads of the trade route that connected this part of the world with China in the northeast and the Middle East to the west. Much of the ruins at Bhambore still lie buried under the rubble of time, and only further excavations will reveal the true significance of this ancient site, which is waiting to be placed on Unesco’s List of World Heritage Sites.

Sindh is home to some of the world’s most spectacular historical sites, with prehistoric Moenjodaro being the envy of archaeologists anywhere. Together with Moenjodaro, the medieval-time Makli necropolis near Thatta, with its largely intact carved stone mausoleums, is already on Unesco’s list. It is indeed sad that a chronic paucity of funds and the government’s lack of interest in the past have not been able to solicit the international attention that these and other heritage sites in Sindh deserve.

Now with the culture department playing a more proactive role to streamline the importance of owning our heritage, it is hoped that conservation work will start at those sites in most need of it. The effort needs to be focused, sustained and carried out under the supervision of qualified conservation experts.

 

NY Literati Attend ATDT Book Launch on Feb 21

Author at book signing

In busy New York city, throbbing with frenetic commercial activity, the Western literati flocked on a cold Tuesday evening into the independent book store, McNally Jackson. They had come to hear the only woman reporter under Gen. Zia ul Haq, Nafisa Hoodbhoy launch her book, `Aboard the Democracy Train: A Journey through Pakistan’s Last Decade of Democracy.’

The event was moderated by the Managing Editor Newsroom, New York Public Radio – Karen Frillmann and included comments by Political Science professor at Georgia State University, Henry F. Carey. Prof. Carey had in the 90s accompanied Ms Hoodbhoy through the rural areas of Sindh and Punjab, at a time when she reported on the nation’s struggle to return to democracy.

In her opening address, Ms Hoodbhoy said that it was extraordinary that she was launching her book from New York, where she had begun her journalistic career. In her words, the US women’s movement had inspired and motivated her to become the only woman reporter for Pakistan’s leading English language, Dawn newspaper… where she covered Benazir Bhutto’s bid to become the nation’s only woman prime minister.

Ms Frillmann asked Ms Hoodbhoy a host of questions about the social structure, history and politics of Pakistan, including civil society’s struggle for rule of law. In particular, she voiced the concern of American intellectuals about the effects of US involvement in the region.

The ATDT author spoke for about an hour about the issues raised by the moderator…referring back to the chapters of her book. In turn, the audience remained highly attentive throughout the presentation.

Prof. Carey made brief interventions, based on his observations and experiences on Pakistan’s struggle for democracy.

Afterwards, Ms Hoodbhoy answered a slew of questions raised by the audience – most of whom had a good working knowledge about Pakistan. Responding to questions from the audience about the news carried about Pakistan by the US media, the author gave her own perspective on current events.

The talk was followed by a book signing by the author.

Hoodbhoy Book Launch Presentation
Hoodbhoy Book Launch Questions

What Ails Pakistan Railways

Striking railway workers (Courtesy Kamran Razi)

Oct 17, 2011 (9:49 PM) In Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: With train operations coming to a halt across the country on Monday, a high level meeting was summoned to find a way out of the deepening crisis that has pushed Pakistan Railways (PR) to the brink.

But the outcome of the meeting, summoned by President Asif Ali Zardari, was far from definite – with the president directing that funds for the payment of salaries and pensions of protesting workers be arranged for in 7 days.

On the other hand, the government once again asked PR to approach banks for a Rs6 billion loan to cater to burgeoning infrastructural costs – funds that the president ordered be injected solely into a dilapidated and fast deteriorating system.

Finance ministry refuses to pay

Earlier this year, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani approved Rs11.5 billion as a bailout package for Pakistan Railways. Of this amount, around Rs5 billion was to be paid by the federal government as cost for rehabilitation projects, while PR was asked to arrange the remaining amount through commercial banks.

However, the finance ministry refused to grant Rs5 billion saying it could not provide further subsidies to Pakistan Railways seeing as it is already suffering huge losses.

President Zardari has asked the government to release funds within seven days for the payment of salaries and pensions of protesting railway employees, a press statement issued after the meeting stated.

Role of the private sector

Presidential spokesperson President Farhatullah Babar said that private sector entrepreneurs were also invited to the meeting to discuss a public-private partnership model for revamping railways.

Chairman Arif Habib Group of Companies Arif Habib and Chairman ARD Group of Companies Aqeel Karim Dhedi were specially invited to give their input on the role the private sector could play in turning around the state-run rail sector, Babar added.

Revamping railways

“The president also advised the government to arrange a loan of Rs6 billion for locomotive repairs and purchases of new locomotives. The loan will be used exclusively for this purpose and will not be diverted for any other purpose,” he said.

The spokesperson further said that another decision was taken during the meeting which pertained to the over Rs40 billion outstanding overdraft obtained from the State Bank by Pakistan Railways, for which it has been paying an amount of Rs350 million per month.

(Read: Railways eye bailout funds by August)

The president advised that this matter be taken up with the Council of Common Interests as PR services were utilised by all provinces and the issue was inter-provincial in nature.

Railways Minister Haji Ghulam Ahmed Bilour informed the meeting that half of the total locomotives were out of order, 86 per cent of bridges are more than 100 years old, the signaling system is obsolete, the telecommunication system is outdated and the track is over-aged.

Protests in Sindh

Rail traffic between Sindh and Punjab remained suspended due to protests by staff at the railway track near Loco Shed Rohri on Monday.

Hundreds of railway employees, under the aegis of the Loco Running Staff Train Drivers Association led by General Secretary Ali Haider Chachar, staged a protest demonstration against the non-payment of salaries.

Protesting employees staged a sit-in on the railway track, making it impossible for trains to get out of the shed.

“Our protest and sit-in will continue till the disbursement of salaries,” Chachar told The Express Tribune.

Protests in Lahore

Locomotive shed workers of Lahore observed a strike in the diesel loco shed for almost 11 hours on Monday. Hundreds of workers of Rail Mazdoor Ittehad (RMI) started their protest early Monday morning against the non-payment of salaries.

The employees threatened to resume the protest early Tuesday morning and would continue till they were paid.

(ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY SARFARAZ MEMON IN SUKKUR AND SHAHRAM HAQ IN LAHORE)

Published in The Express Tribune, October 18th, 2011.
Article taken from The Express Tribune – http://tribune.com.pk
URL to article: http://tribune.com.pk/story/276029/pakistan-railways-employees-end-protest-after-assurances-by-authorities/

 

Saving the Mohenjodaro Ruins from Ruination

The ruins of Mohenjo-Daro in the Sindh province of Pakistan. (Credit: memo.fr)

19th October 2011:

The preservation of Moenjodaro was discussed at a conference held in Karachi on Saturday in which archaeological experts, top Sindh government officials and Unesco representatives participated. While the provincial government allocated Rs100m to help conserve the 5,000-year-old Indus Valley Civilisation and World Heritage site, experts in their desperation suggested burial of the ruins until such time that technology became available to control the rising water table and salt levels in the

Mohenjo daro The Great Bath (brittanica.com)

soil that threaten the prehistoric site. International experts have reportedly been struggling for years to conserve Moenjodaro, in the process experimenting with various techniques that just do not seem to give the desired results. This is extremely worrisome.

It is clear that Pakistan alone cannot foot the bill for the conservation of the prehistoric city; funds coming from Unesco, too, have not enabled the experts to come up

Aerial View of Mohenjo Daro (Credit home.hiwaay.net)

with a formula to do the needful. The money and manpower, including experts working on the conservation project, are deemed to be inadequate by all accounts. There is thus an urgent need to create more awareness about the site that is no less important to human civilisation than the ancient relics of the Egyptian and Mesopotamian cultures. The need is to create a global fund and a pool of competent conservation research experts to explore the challenge at hand and to devise a custom-made solution that will work. It would be a shame having to rebury the unearthed parts of Moenjodaro in the very same soil whose rising water table and salt levels are threatening it. A global appeal needs to be launched by Pakistan with the backing of Unesco to further the debate on preserving Moenjodaro.

Mohenjodaro Walled City (harappa.com)

Granted, the time to do this should have been years ago, but the urgency of the matter demands it had better be done today.

DAWN.COM DawnNews

Report on Religious Minorities in Pakistan

The National Commission for Peace and Justice has issued a report on the Religious Minorities in Pakistan in August 2011 which describes how Pakistan, Afghanistan, Egypt, Iran, Indonesia, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and Nigeria are among the countries that have anti-blasphemy laws. In Pakistan, they note that under Zia ul Haq’s blasphemy laws, the penalty includes a mandatory death sentence for defaming the Prophet Mohammad and life sentence for desecrating the Holy Quran. Under the provisions of the present law, conviction is made possible without proof of deliberate attempt on the part of the accused. This the NCPJ states is a violation of the fundamental rights guaranteed by the constitution of Pakistan.

For the full NCPJ report, please click on the link to download the it: Human Rights Monitor 2011.

Why are Pakistan’s ‘moderate’ clerics defending Salman Taseer’s murderer

Photo Credit: Arif Ali

He was only 18 years old at the time he was hanged for blasphemy. The accusations against him included allegations that he had made statements that mocked the “holy scriptures” and all “revealed religion”. He was also said to have described theology as “a rhapsody of feigned and ill-invented nonsense”.

Photo Credit: Arif Ali

The man in question wasn’t another Pakistani being victimised by the country’s infamous blasphemy laws. Thomas Aikenhead was a Scottish medical student living in Edinburgh who left his mark on history as the last person to be hanged in Britain for blasphemy, in 1697. In his indictment he was, in fact, accused of having “preferred Mahomet to the blessed Jesus”. However, when he was taken to the gallows Aikenhead was said to have held a Bible in his hands and denied the claims made against him.

What is of interest about the incident is its timing: it took place at the dawn of the Scottish Enlightenment.

Photo Credit: Arif Ali

In that respect, Aikenhead’s punishment was telling of the urgent need for change in a society that had been mired in superstition and intolerance. Fast-forward to the modern age and parts of Pakistan find themselves living, some would say being dragged back, into the dark ages. Protests by religious fundamentalists have been taking place all over the country against the recent court decision to hang Mumtaz Qadri, the murderer of the liberal Punjab governor Salman Taseer. Now there comes news a Pakistani court has suspended the death sentence, pending an appeal made by Qadri against his conviction.

Photo Credit: Arif Ali

While Pakistan may not be at the cusp of some kind of enlightenment, it is a society being overwhelmed by the changes brought by modernity. At the same time the country finds itself being pulled in the opposite direction by strong regressive forces.

The furore over the blasphemy laws is indicative of a larger failing to understand the underlying causes behind the fundamentalist problem. Some of the most vocal street protests by admirers of Qadri have been by a group called the Sunni Tehreek. This is an organisation with roots in the Barelvi school of Islam, which has widespread adherents in the country. The Barelvis have for years been touted in certain western and liberal Pakistani circles as the more moderate answer to Saudi-exported Wahhabi or Salafi versions of Islam. But what one finds is the various Barelvi, Wahhabi, Deobandi and Shia schools of thought actually united in critiquing Taseer over his stance on the blasphemy laws. In fact, the Barelvis perhaps came out more fiercely than others in condemning the death sentence to Qadri. This is due to their supposedly stronger attachment to the Prophet Muhammad.

Photo Credit: Arif Ali

Unfortunately, post-September 11 there has been a taboo in understanding the rise in influence of Wahhabi Islam among Muslims. To imagine Barelvis or “Sufis” as all being peace-loving mystics and “moderates” simply doesn’t hold. Many people have been sucked into the more puritanical Wahhabi Islam as a reaction to superstitions they are led to believe have crept into Islam – such as offering prayers at tombs, celebrating the prophet’s birthday, visits to pirs (faith healers) who exploit people’s blind faith and other practices considered to be “shirk” or idolatry. Tragically, such literalist interpretation has also created an intolerant mentality, which has led to the shocking destruction of graves of many of the prophet’s close companions and family members in Mecca by the Saudis – wiping out irretrievably sites of great historic significance to Islamic culture.

Photo Credit: Arif Ali

The various Barelvi clerics who are protesting against the death sentence for Taseer’s killer are, paradoxically, also the ones to have issued condemnations of Islamist terrorists and Taliban. Their shrines have been attacked by suicide bombers and Pakistan has witnessed prominent Barelvi figures killed in recent times. But the problem is we now have a situation where clerics loosely allied with the west in the “war on terror” are defending a man who has committed open murder.

In June 2009, in an article in Foreign Policy magazine, the writer Ali Eteraz warned of the folly of Washington’s policy of actively supporting one brand of Islam over another. “After years of bemoaning official Saudi sponsorship of Wahhabism, and condemning official Iranian sponsorship of milleniarian Islam, we are now being asked to celebrate a state-sponsored brand of Islam in Pakistan,” he wrote. “We are asked to believe this is ‘different’ from those other cases solely because it’s a version of the religion that looks benign. But not only is this unprincipled – it is going to backfire, leaving Sufism discredited and more religious resentment among the numerous peaceful Salafis in the world.” His prediction appears to be coming true.

Using one religious faction to confront another can be a dangerous strategy. For one, it only gives an excuse for more sectarian conflict in a country already rife with enough violence. More significantly, there lies the danger of turning a blind eye to religious groups appearing to be “moderate” who, when the time is ripe, may start to assert their own agenda using street power.

Photo Credit: Arif Ali

Instead, the starting point to confront this menace should be to highlight the selective outrage of the fundamentalists, as the Pakistani actress Veena Malik did earlier this year. Appearing on a TV show, Malik had an all-out confrontation with a mullah who had critiqued her over her appearance in the Indian version of Big Brother. “If you want to do something for the glory of Islam,” she retorted, “you have plenty of opportunities. What are the politicians doing? Bribery, robbery, theft and killing in the name of Islam. There are many things to talk about … There are Islamic clerics who rape the children they teach in their mosques and so much more.”

Sadly there are yet to be massive street rallies over these issues.

Traders Respond to Government’s Energy Saving Measures

The Gillani Cabinet had to designate three Ministers to explain why two off days every week would bring about monumental savings in power consumption. Like always, no industrialist or businessmen will do what the government so desperately desires. Factories would run as usual, markets would be humming with the hustle and bustle, and the economic activity would continue on weekends just like before.

We industrialists are determined to earn foreign exchange for the nation, we are all geared to provide quality employment, and we are dedicated towards our goal of making Pakistan an economic powerhouse.

Meantime, the Cabinet and the Parliamentarians can enjoy their weekend holidays and let us industrialists do what we do best. Keep the wheels of industry running.

Strengthening Participatory Organization (SPO) Update on Sindh Flood

The recent torrential rains have created havoc in Sindh. More than 350 people have lost their lives, 8,8million people have been affected among them 1.36 million are children and 240000 pregnant women facing hardships under open sky.

Now the rains have stopped, the flood water is standing in almost all cities and villages of Sindh. Due to breaches in the left bank outfall Drainage, in the kacha area of Dadu , Nain Gaj ,more than 25ft of water flowed into the area and caused human loss. Live stock and house hold items poverty stricken people also washed away. This is not the first time that the LBOD has severely affected and displaced the population of Badin.

The recent spell of heavy rains and flood has reinforced the losses caused by last year’s devastating floods. People are still struggling with severe problems like shortage food and clean drinking water, unhygienic living conditions, pregnant women have their own health problems and children are facing vector borne diseases. On the other hand, Government’s relief operation is too slow to address their needs. People also complain of political influence while distribution of relief goods.

Following table will help in understanding the level damage in different districts;

Sr # District Affected Taluqa UCs Villages Population Agri Land Houses
01 Badin 5 46 6300 1021000 343000 382000
02 MP Khas 6 41 5700 705000 134000 118000
03 Jamshoroo 4 25 614 8400 5820 75000
04 Benazirabad 4 51 4100 900000 125000 300000
05 Tando AY 3 19 1254 270890 66500 28000
06 Tando MK 3 16 1555 267000 68000 51000
07 Umarkot 4 27 1651 180000 160745 Acers 84474 Fully Damage & 77076 Partially Damage

 

Sr # District Deaths Livestock Relief Camps Population of Camps
01 Badin 50 60% 500 670,000
02 MP Khas 43 230 147 57269
03 Jamshoroo 15 14 9000 – 1000 local IDPs6000 IDPs from other district.
04 Benazirabad 32 80 Thousand to 1 Lac 625 28630
05 Tando AY
06 Tando MK 15 75 119 11873
07 Umarkot 42 Loses17368Vaccinated 340960

Drenched 9385

Treated 13360

Total Affected

381073

132 238976 IDPs in schools,Tents City, Open Sky & Other Govt Building

For more on the Sindh flood, watch the interview by SPO chief Naseer Memon to Netherlands Web based television ‘The Water Channel