WITH THE start of snowfall and gradual increase in the intensity of cold conditions, U.N. and other agencies apprehend that cold and hunger shall claim a very large number of lives amongst the survivors of the monumental tragedy of 8~’ October. Still, tens of thousands of people in otherwise inaccessible areas in the disaster zone could not receive any relief worth the name. Army, NGOs and international agencies are making last ditch efforts to rush supplies to survivors unwilling to leave their damaged homes on the mountains. With freezing weather getting almost intolerable, survivors in the hill top villages are beginning to descend to tent cities. Azad Kashmir Prime Minister Sardar Sikandar Hayat Khan told U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees on Thursday at Muzaffarabad that around 40,000 persons are likely to leave their homes in the hills to come and live in the tent cities. These facilities will accordingly come under tremendous pressure. Already, relief supplies are dwindling and tents in particular are in short supply. The survivors still in the hill top villages in Kaghan valley, Batagram, Allai and Mansehra areas are also coming down and pressure on tent cities in the Frontier’s devastated areas is mounting.
The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees who was appalled to see human miseries at this incredible scale called upon the world community to immediately actualize their commitments made at the 19`” November International Donors’ Conference. He rightly stated that the thousands of survivors would lose battle with their shattered lives if immediate help was not provided. The NGOs are doing a commendable job but the inclement weather is coming in their way. Besides, they are running short of relief goods. The relief effort desperately needs to be bolstered with a large number of young and daring young men who could deliver supplies to the survivors in difficult areas. The President has launched a volunteer corps of young workers and professionals and batches of these youth may be urgently deployed in various areas. The U.N. `s top official recalled Pakistan’s hospitality extended to millions of Afghan refugees and stated that the world community owed this debt and must repay quickly to stop cold and hunger from claiming more lives.
Meanwhile, debate on the nature of pledges made by the donors is continuing. While critics say that only one-third of 6 billion dollars promised assistance in the form of grants, the debt burden on Pakistan shall increase if the credit offered by the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, IDB, IMF, etc. is availed. However, most of the credit is repayable in 40 years and the terms are quite soft. The friendly countries continue to raise their commitments and Australian Prime Minister who visited quake areas earlier this week announced to provide another 37 million U.S. dollars grant for relief and rehabilitation. Australian teams shall also continue to handle relief work for another three months. U.S. and Britain have also raised their contributions. Owner-driven concept for reconstruction phase is being widely accepted and it is hoped the survivors would manage to rebuild their houses with enhanced compensation in a year’s time.

Leaving Iraq

CONDI Rice has hinted that the US will start pulling out its troops from Iraq next year. In an interview on Tuesday, the secretary of state told Fox News —that ‘fair and balanced’ mouthpiece of US Right —that US forces need not remain in Iraq “in the numbers that they are now for very much longer because Iraqis are stepping up.” This is by far the boldest attempt by the Bush administration to confront the realities of Iraq. Until now, from Defence Secretary Don Rumsfeld to Vice President Dick Cheney to President Bush himself, there has been a reluctance on the part of US leadership to see the writing on the wall even as Iraq burns and its hapless people pay the ultimate price daily across the large killing field that their country has become.
We only hope Ms Rice’s comment reflects a much-needed sobering up in Washington and a more realistic approach to Iraq. The first step to rescuing Iraq from the frightening chaos that it has been battling for the past two years or so is to admit that the US indeed has a problem in Iraq. And that, more importantly, it’s part of the problem. By now it should have become amply clear to Washington that Iraqi insurgency essentially feeds on US presence in the country. Regardless of the reasons that may have drawn the US to Iraq —the mythical WMD or the fiction about Saddam-Al Qaeda links —it does not demand extraordinary intelligence to see that the presence of foreign troops is fuelling and adding to popular frustration and unrest in the country. Now this anger is not limited to US troops alone. This has degenerated into an all-out, free-for-all civil war with Iraqi political parties, security agencies, and militias openly taking on each other.
The disclosure of a secret Interior ministry prison last week, which housed 173, tortured and emaciated Sunnis could only be a tip of the iceberg. It was followed by some deeply disturbing reports in UK media that revealed how Iraqi security forces, infiltrated by Shia militias, are settling old scores by targeting Sunni politicians and population. The killing of a top Sunni leader, Kathim Sirheed Ali, this week is an example of the new phenomenon in Iraq conflict—targeted killings. This is why the US proposal to withdraw its troops starting next year is so welcome. Not only the ordinary Iraqis and people of Middle East but the majority of Americans would welcome the move. As the US toll crossed 2,000 this month, the opposition to Iraq war in America has touched alarming levels. Bush’s popularity ratings have dropped to an unprecedented level for an American president in recent times.

—Arab News