Aquasaurus eats Pakistan: The search for new life beyond blood, sweat & tears

Haseena Begum weeps as she recalls her home being washed away in Multan

We have seen it all? Haven't we? 'The astound episodes of horror and dismay, infected by the curse of doom.' After all these years we have been through one can only ask the merciless fate; Hey mate! Is every catastrophe is designed for our 'endurable' Pakistan? How long these 'pranks of test' would last? Is there any full stop to this 'kamikaze' which has entrapped us for the last 63 years?


Recall, the musty and old-fashioned 'amma jis', who wandered and maundered in hope of snatching a sack of 'chaki atta'; Those black-outs half a day that tortured a blooming student's academic brains; Those weeks when young and half-grown boys were brain-washed to bombarding deaths; High-flying drones inching in our territory; A 'rocket' shoe barely missing the 'head' of head of the state; Those hours when 'The Times' published us as 'the most dangerous nation of the world'. Welcome to 'our Pakistan': whose tale is full of adventures lead by trait of misguidance and the devious character of mistrust.

Devastation at Charsadda, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

And, now the havocs offered by the surfs of the devastating flood. Pakistan has never faced such a calamity in decades.  From the gigantic hills of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa till the twirling tides at the shores of Karachi, the entire nation is soaked in woe of agony and apprehensions. Heart-rending spectacles have now turned into a matter of routine. Humanity cried to its fullest when, millions of us witnessed a frail old 'baba ji' who palmed the 'chauki' of demolished roof of his owned 'makaan' that perhaps, drank his whole manhood, disappearing in the combers of riddling death. Television channels highlighted a jumbo sized building that failed to anchor to a steep base, and tossed off to its head, where it soon vanished in the waves of generous-turned 'ruthless' River Indus.


More than 1,500 people have been killed and hundreds of thousands stranded by flooding triggered by the annual monsoon rains. The floodwaters have washed away millions of hectares of crops, submerged villages and destroyed roads and bridges. Disease is spreading among Pakistani flood victims, and there have been warnings that dams in the south may burst. The power infrastructure of Pakistan also took a severe blow from the floods, which damaged 10,000 transmission lines, transformers, feeders and power houses in different flood hit areas. Flood water inundated Jinnah Hydro power and 150 power houses in Gilgit. The damage caused a power shortfall of 3.135 gigawatts. Aid agencies have warned that outbreaks of diseases, such as: gastroenteritis, diarrhea, and skin diseases due to lack of clean drinking water and sanitation can pose a serious new risk to victims of flood. Floods have submerged 17 million acres of Pakistan's most fertile crop land, have killed 200,000 livestock and have washed away massive amounts of grain. A major concern is that farmers will be unable to meet the fall deadline for planting new seeds in 2010, meaning a massive loss of food production in 2011, and potentially leading to long term food shortages. In short, flood has resulted in obliteration of infrastructure, agriculture and mankind itself.

"I will never forget the destruction and suffering I have witnessed today. In the past I have witnessed many natural disasters around the world, but nothing like this." (UN Secretary Ban Ki-Moon)

The 'Godfather' of tsunami, as Ban Ki-Moon claimed it to be, is now surely a catechism for our fellow brothers. Where, the distinct backgrounds now share the same arena without a roof, the calamity has surely shown it's worst possible face and suggests extraordinary measures to cope with it. This sensitive time phase of Pakistan can now only be elaborated under two major headings:-


1) The curse of God (Azab-e-Elahi)


The validity of the first heading will surely be endorsed by majority of my readers; as it touches the strings of sentiments of many of us. Fundmentalists suggest that ethics and morality are pillars on which one's tent of life stands. Either as an individual or as a whole they, form a key ingredient of one's way to un-parallel success. We promised to practice the same at our beginning but later, faced a collapse plagued by misery, individualism and injustice. When, the men of 'land of pure' ignored the cure, the nature depicted its color in most devastating way. Humanity in these years died many times and screamed with pain; those complains have surely now bursted in shape of tears of flood.


Perhaps, Pakistan is currently passing through the most tragic moments of her history. The once called pure land is now filled with impurities not only because of the system displayed by government but also because of the inhumane actions carried out by fellow citizens of our nation. The floods sent by nature which are invading our country killing and destroying the lives of many as well as our infrastructure are part of natural disaster but the after mark and the relief for those people is the responsibility of our government which promise average man to fulfill their necessities in such tribal times. 


But, we cannot only rely on the government  machinery to perform and carry the heavy load on it shoulders only. So, what is our real obligation as a Pakistani? as a Muslim? as a human at first. The Holy month of Ramadan is upon us and we can only ask for forgiveness for our sins to the Merciful; the lengthy tearful prayers with a sincere 'tauba'. It's the perfect opportunity for us to counsel our brothers. As it's the need of time, to stand united for the cause and focus to provide selfless assistance to the rescuers. We are engrossed in our lives fully which leaves us with no option to care and help others. Please think about it and try to put to use your positive contribution in order for Pakistan, in times of disaster and need, as it is every individual’s responsibility. 

People displaced by the flooding tussle for food aid in Khangarh village

2) The system of God (Nizam-e-Elahi)


The other aspect argues about the reality-check more. Water flowing over or water at the dead level; we either get lot of rains or we don’t get them at all. In a country like ours’ where a big resource of power generation is through the reserved water from dams the necessity for construction of more dams heightens even more when the consumption of electricity is on the rise every coming year.

A non-issue becomes an ever impending issue in our country when the matter falls victim to politics, hence the Kalabagh Dam issue. Not very long ago those having ‘insight’ would say that various cities of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa would drown in consequence of the construction of the Kalabagh Dam. Nevertheless, they were still drowned when the recent flood waters swept away life from corner of several populous cities.

Map showing Dams in Pakistan

When I compare the present scenario where the flood has left everything in haphazard, to a possible situation we cold have had if the politicized dams were actually constructed - I see a much lesser destruction. The journey from a point where our country was well known for its canal irrgation system to the present extremes of draughts and floods speaks volumes of the politics of vested interests, of bias and treachery to the citizens that continues till day. 


Instead of making the country of ours a victim of ethnicity and regionalism, we should adopt a more broader spectrum - seeking for a national interest and avoiding self-suicide. If we still don’t resolve to construct new dams, God forbid, we would be worse off in the time to come.


Because, the destruction of calamity is not confined and doesn't label itself for either a Balochi, Pathan, Punjabi or Sindhi; but in fact, shakes the entire humanity. The heart of every Pakistani cries for his/her brother. Learning the clear lessons from this 'shakermaker', is the only remedy to fight the hard times - that still await us.