Pakistan begs for more

[Desi Cartman]

UNITED NATIONS : Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari appealed for global aid on Tuesday for the hundreds of thousands of civilians displaced by the fighting against Taliban militants in northwest Pakistan. "We're appealing to the world, myself and the (UN) secretary general... to draw attention on the human catastrophe that is taking place," he told reporters after conferring with UN chief Ban Ki-moon. "They (civilians) are losing their crops, they're losing their earnings, their livelihood and their homes, so we want the world to help us," he added. "The secretary general has been kind enough to accept our appeal to him and he is going to appeal to the world with us jointly to help Pakistan." Ban meanwhile told reporters that in his meeting with Zardari, he expressed his "deep concern" about the humanitarian situation in northwestern Pakistan where Pakistani commandos are stepping up a punishing offensive against militants that has now displaced more than half a million people. Tens of thousands of terrified civilians have been streaming out of three battle-torn northwest districts each day, with the UN refugee agency saying that 501,496 stranded people had registered with authorities since May 2. Pakistani troops have opened up a new front in the district's northern mountains, the suspected stronghold of firebrand Taliban commander Maulana Fazlullah and his top lieutenants behind a nearly two-year uprising that has devastated the area. "I expressed my deep concern and I expect President Zardari to take all necessary care to protect the civilian population," the UN boss said. "The UN is ready to stand by to provide the necessary humanitarian assistance." Ban said he asked the Pakistani leader "to facilitate the smooth delivery of humanitarian assistance and the protection of humanitarian workers," adding "it is a very serious situation." A UN statement said Ban "supported the fight against extremism and expressed confidence and trust in the leadership of President Zardari." In Geneva, UN humanitarian chief John Holmes earlier Tuesday said he would "substantially" increase an aid appeal for Pakistan after half a million people fled the conflict in the northwest over the past 10 days. The United Nations had made an appeal for 165.9 million dollars for humanitarian aid in Pakistan for 2008-2009. "Clearly that is not going to be enough, Holmes, who runs the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), told journalists. He said that even before the latest fighting between the military and Taliban in northwest Pakistan, the United Nations was already dealing with about half a million displaced people in the country. With half a million more people fleeing in the past 10 days, "it is a situation that we are struggling to keep up with," Holmes said.

Shamless people .. they beg from the same people whom they criticize

[EnterTheVoid]

Are you aware of any good internet firewalling software you can use ?

[Rajiv]

He maybe begging for his own greed also but there is no doubt a huge problem with all ppl fleeing, didn't you see the news. I find it sad that due to nuts on both sides, a majority of the poor class have to pay the price

[The Outsider]

Hmmm...according to a report I read close to 1 million people have been left stranded and if the President of that cash strapped region asks for $160 per person for them, I won't call it begging but genuine humanitarian aid. Yes it's a different argument where the other aid to Pakistan went but it would be criminal on the world community to let unfold another humanitarian crisis and in the process fuel more terrorism.

[Desi Cartman]

its called begging because they still spend a lot of money on defense, on Kashmir and plus the share of politicians but they refuse to take care of their own mess. Can someone explain why is it someone else's responsibility to help pak govt when they are the ones who are sending terrorists to other countries and creating all this mess. My problem is not with the aid .. my problem is that its a country where people openly donate money to spread terrorism in a foreign country, where members of parliament openly declare that USA , Israel and India are behind all their problems but then they go to the same USA and ask for money. Its called begging when they refuse to feed their own but at the same time are ready to buy/maintain weapons that the country cant afford. My problem is not with the poor but with the policy of the country . They are responsible for their own mess .. the world should be able to help them but only once they agree to clean the mess up. When they hand over hijackers of IA flight , when they send Dawood , stop sending terrorists into India or at least agree to explain how they are going to use this AID money ......

[Rajiv]

[Desi Cartman]

:fail: his real picture doesnt need any editing

[EnterTheVoid]

@ Rajiv uggggggghhhh. That picture is hideous. Seriously, that is ugly