Outsiders’ cautious reaction to the disaster so far is less heartless than it seems. But now is the time to help

Some wrong writing here: "India itself has suffered recent floods and has offered some help (Pakistan is unsure whether to accept). Delivering it could show that India genuinely wants its troubled neighbour to recover and to prosper."

Correction 1) India has offered 5 million $ of aid in kind, which means a lot (more than "some help") in Indian currency.
Correction 2) The second sentence is wrong, because in the first you say "Pakistan is unsure...". The question here is not whether India delivers, but whether Pakistan accepts.

Who is this cruel God that inflicts such inhuman pain on this Republic.

Pakistan recently purchased F-16 for 1.3B. According to the New York Times the average value of parliamentarians is $900,000 and the president has not paid income tax in 2005-06-07. 2.5 million people pay income tax whereas 10 million should. The situation canot be compared to Haiti in spite of corruption plaguing both countries. I don't see a problem though with the fact that the Economist would not raise this as buying fighters is good for the economy and income tax should not penalize rich people. Should I give $50 to Pakistan?

How can anyone show any sympathy towards Pakistan's plight when they spend billions developing and stockpiling nuclear weapons when their millions of citizens are living in such abject poverty and in such miserable conditions. They should dismantle their nuclear arsenal and help their poor millions with the money they would save before begging for help from others.

Pakistan state is a sponsor of international terrorism; they have exported terrorists to kill innocent civilians in the UK and in India. Pakistan military is known to follow a two-faced policy, of working with the Taleban and Al Qaeda at the same time while the US is pouring billions in that rat hole to fight the same Taleban/AlQaeda insurgents.

The best way to help Pakistan is to air drop food, blankets and other necessities. Zardari and the Military elite can't deposit that in a Swiss bank.

Maybe a glimmer of good can come out of the flood of despair, with 1/5th of the land flooded and more to come with Monsoon rains ahead. Global response is improving, but most heartening is regional response, with neighbors stepping forward offering of immediate aid in food, water and medical supplies and temporary shelter. Most provident, however, are promises of substantial large development loans to come.

Pakistan *asked* India for help days ago. I hope the government will accept India's opening offer for redevelopment help. The next step is to enlarge discussions for economic investment in the worst affected areas in Pakistan, and from there...a bridge. Joint infrastructure development and economic investment in Kashmir will go a long way to quelling long-standing civil unrest at the border.

Pakistan to should take great care to limit the potential for corruption arising from aid inflow.

When the flood waters finally recede, technical assistance should be offered from the international professional hydrology and civil engineering community in concert with NGOs, for the development of low-tech demonstration projects to manage sediment inundation of flood control structures throughout the length of the Indus Valley.

Here is where tentatively restored relations between Pakistan and India can do great good, for much of the erosion occurs in the Kashmir region. This cycle of severe drought followed by floods (catalyzed by low river flow during drought) will reoccur, as regional climate extreme events become more frequent. Mismanagement of irrigation in erosive sediments and soils of the Indus must be addressed - and soon.

We see here, not god-inflicted cruelty, but an extreme event that supplies evidence of need for collaborative engineering and redevelopment of Kashmir. Technological investment will create jobs and training opportunities, while doing much to instill neighborly tolerance through reducing poverty and discontent among the unemployed young. It may, in time, allow both nations to redirect funding from border defense to regional economic development. This would further early gains made in addressing soils and water management issues in the upper Indus.

This Economist article and news stories elsewhere today of a positive global response to the UN General's fervent plea yesterday for help gladden this heart.

"......since the man-made disaster of partition from India in 1947."

This is a biased comment.
It is an insult to Pakistanis and millions of Muslims who lost their lives for an Independent Muslim state.

Guess what? Pakistan will accept India's offer of help, albeit, like it were doing India a huge favour!

And guess what, again? Pakistan will turn around & bite India in the proverbial hand, soon after availing the assistance.

That's called gratitude, "Pakistani-style"!!

Excuse me but base on the map showed of the flooded regions, doesn't it look like the whole Pakistan Taliban territories are inside the flooded zone?

IMHO, I agree in totality with the authors "A little money could go a long way", but the trouble here is we are assuming a good deed will be looked upon good and will be answered with gratitude. But, here is the surprise...

How have Afgahnistan, Iran, Iraq, Palestine have been grateful after the aid? The entire islamic extremism is garnering up against all un-islamic things. They want trouble and unrest and will stop at nothing... Money spent here is equivalent of money lost in black holes...They still sponsor terrorismand they thrive on that..Pakistan is no exception..They will take your aid and expand their terrorist networks with the money and buy weapons and strike you back.. so, least to say, we must not sponsor our own destruction..

Here is why? The $50 you give will hardly make it to $5 for the flood victim, and this is not enough for his lifetime. He has to turn back to Terrorism or extremist measures to get employed for his living. Hey terrorism is an employment opportunity for these states that sponsore, breed, and highlight terrorsim with double face. As the warlords in pakistan who smuggle weapons and farm opium this money is immaterial and will make it to wrong hands.. Wake up..smell the coffee...you really want to help, then are other ways...

As the last Sentence of this Sub-Title clearly states:

"But now is the time to help."

Fortunately, for the Faltering/Failing/Fallen Government & State of Pakistan, the Time for Condemnation & Recrimination has long ago passed US by!

Even as Kashmir is Bawling & Boiling, India can still demonstrate it's Magnanimity by Giving a Helping Hand:

"Delivering it could show that India genuinely wants its troubled neighbour to recover and to prosper. A little money now could go a long way.."

With Famines, Fires & Floods visiting US @ the same Time, WE can use All & Any Help ...........

Peace, Love & Respect.

I keep thinking about the bomb outside the Danish embassy in Pakistan two years ago. There were violent protests against free press and cartoons. Is Pakistan really asking the same newspapers to run articles asking its readers to donate money to the country?

What is the cost of the nuclear weapons program in Pakistan? It must run into billions. Then add in the cost of keeping a permanent army along the Indian border. For some reason, I find it insulting that my government is contributing money towards a country that has spent so recklessly in the past.

Part of me want to hold off aid, in the hope that the internal pressure from the Pakistan population will precipitate a change. The extra casualties will be small compared to the lives saved from a better run government.

tt

‘Bad enough is what others do to you (in this case, nature), but worse is what you do to yourself’ – by holding off on accepting aid from India, Pakistan is not proving anything except its own immaturity. This is not the time to play petty politics, but to try and help the population recover.

For the first time in 63 years, Pakistan has said that its biggest threat is Islamic extremism, not India- this one is for placating the West into giving it more aid.
At the same time, it is refusing to accept the Indian aid of $5Mn, even though India is ready to route it through UN.
But what takes the cake is some loony fringes within Pakistan blaming the US for changing weather patterns that caused these floods!!

In the opinion of some, the current floods may well be the worst battering Pakistan has taken since the man-made disaster of partition from India in 1947. But some of us can still remember what occured in Bengal in 1970-1971. Floods, famine, death, neglect, indifference, followed by the Pakistani army's brutality. And eventually, the break up of the country. East Pakistan became a free Bangladesh.

It seems to me that Pakistan is still run in the same way as in those dark days. The army and ISI control things, money and resources are used for their purposes, and corruption reigns. Oh, and for appearances' sake, there is a thin veneer of "democracy", or at least what passes for democracy in that part of the world.

But in reality, we are seeing a failed state. The government does not control what happens in the NWFP, and probably never has. Maybe this will be the next bit to break away? Or maybe it will be some other part which has had enough? Sindh, perhaps?

Finally, there is one thing which continues to puzzle me. Why on earth would Kashmir wish to become a part of all this?

A country that has enough resources to run a nuclear weapons program obviously does not lack the money or skill to afford flood protection.

However, it is much more convenient to be reckless and irresponsible and then yell for money from countries whose flags are otherwise routinely burnt in the streets of Karachi.

so, speaking of heartless, whenever i see floods in the news (be they floods in pakistan or floods in Europe), I can't help myself thinking "why don't you move somewhere else?"

I'm pretty sure that's not the right attitude. Anyone care to tell me why it's heartless and what the correct attitude is?

Eventually, Pakistan will scrounge up enough aid to avoid complete collapse but not enough to properly heal from this disaster. It's extremists WILL use the disaster to brainwash and recruit, it's government WILL hide behind the excuse that they would have done more if more had been willing to help, and it's people WILL suffer - horribly. But, let's say that Pakistan received billions in aid the moment the disaster struck, would the result be any different? Of course not. The corrupt of Pakistan are still the corrupt of Pakistan. The victims would get 'insufficient aid' regardless of how much the rest of the world contributed. Water a parasite ridden plant all you want, it will still continue to die and the parasites will be the only things getting stronger.

Financial aid to a country as corrupt as Pakistan is never going to do much good. They can't be given the tools and be expected to fix things themselves.

Pakistan is tomorrow's Afghanistan. Let's stop kidding ourselves and start saving up for the next war.

"A little money (from India) now could go a long way". Sounds cynical.