America to the Rescue?

As I was surfing through one news site to another, and in the process getting highly unmotivated and sad at the sorry state of affairs in my country, something caught my eye. If you were to visit bbc.co.uk, you will see a figure that I am reproducing below that explains from where all the aid to Pakistan is coming from.

(Source: Bbc.co.uk)

As is clearly visible, the United States is the front runner in supplying Pakistan with humanitarian aid followed by the United Kingdom. Saudi Arabia on the other still has to convert its pledges into concrete substance. This is not to point out how our Muslim brethren have failed to step up their efforts to help out the jewel of the Muslim World: Pakistan.

Long-term Commitment

As of today though, Senator John Kerry has announced that the United States will provide Pakistan with $150 million for the whole nine yards. Very noble of the United States indeed. Maybe this time they will some success in winning the hearts and minds of some people in Pakistan.

On the other hand, alarmed by the increasing relief activity of banned outfits in the flood hit regions, the Interior Minister Rehman Malik has asked all and sundry to ask the district officials about the organizations involved in relief activities before donating anything to anyone.

Turf War

The usual politics at the cost of innocent lives also continues unabated as Nawaz Sharif has gone the extra mile in making sure that he drills every nail into Yusuf Raza Gillani's coffin as he can. Reportedly, he called him up and asked what's taking so long in setting up the relief commission that Nawaz Sharif had proposed. No doubt the flambuoyant advisers of the Prime Minister must have advised him to diss the Sharifs because it would make him appear meek. The one glaring fact that they all forgot is that the party workers of both the PML-N, and PPP are missing from the scene of relief activities.