More floods expected in southern Pakistan as crisis spreads

Pakistan readies for more floods

SUKKUR, Pakistan — Authorities were preparing for flooding Friday in southern Pakistan as the worst monsoon rains in decades left an ever lengthier trail of death and destruction in a nation already suffering Islamist violence and an anemic economy.

Over the last week, floods have spread from the northwest down the country, killing around 1,500 people and affecting upward of three million people. Much of the destruction has come from the mighty Indus River, which in better times irrigates vast swaths of farmland.

Some 30,000 Pakistan soldiers are rebuilding bridges, delivering food and setting up relief camps in the northwest, which is the main battleground in the fight against al-Qaida and the Taliban. Foreign countries and the United Nations have donated millions of dollars, and U.S. army helicopters are also helping out.

River embankments were being strengthened and people evacuated from low lying villages in Sukkur district in Sindh province, said regional irrigation minister Jam Saifullah Dharejo.

The U.S. Embassy said 85 military service people were taking part in the U.S. relief mission, which is taking place in the northwest, where the destruction has been the most serious.

On Thursday, six choppers picked up around 800 stranded people and dropped off emergency aid.

The United States is unpopular in Pakistan, and Washington will be hoping the relief missions will help improve its image, however marginally. But the mission could draw criticism from Islamist politicians and others in Pakistan who are hostile to the idea of American boots on the ground, even if they are helping after a disaster.

Islamist groups have staged their own relief efforts in the northwest. One, Falah-e-Insaniat, is a charity with alleged ties to Lashkar-e-Taiba, the militant group accused in the 2008 attacks in Mumbai, India, that killed 166 people.

The U.S. military carried out larger operations in the aftermath of the 2005 Kashmir earthquake, as it did in predominantly Muslim Indonesia after the 2004 tsunami. Those missions went smoothly and were credited with boosting Washington’s reputation there.