Pakistan Is Drowning In Floods: Will India Help?

The houses in Pakistan are flooded with water. People have left their homes with very little essentials they could carry. Roads, tracks, houses, buildings everything has drowned in water. People in the areas most affected by floods have escaped from their houses and they are in urgent need of food, clean water to drink and medicines.

Impact on people -

Due to climate change, the monstrous level of floods have devastated implications on people. Around 1100 people have lost their lives and numbers are still increasing. More than 25 million people are suffering badly due to floods. As per the official data of Pakistan, it is creating a wide scale impact on the already mourning economy of Pakistan. One-third of Pakistan is badly suffering from it and it has damaged the property worth $10 billion in Pakistan which includes schools, houses, government buildings and various other infrastructure. Not only the structures, it has destroyed the crops which has placed Pakistan on verge of a food crisis too.

Global response to Pakistan -

Floods leave infections behind them, so both food and medicines are the essential requirements of Pakistan. The secretary General of UN, Antonio Guetrres has appealed globally to help Pakistan in this difficult time. Global powers like the US, UK and China have already started sending assistance to Pakistan. Also Qatar, UAE and Turkey have also come forward to help the nation. Not only countries but also the IMF(International Monetary Fund) has agreed to provide $1.1 billion to help Pakistan. This money has been under consultation since Pakistan had asked for help because it was facing a major economic crisis even before floods.

Reason behind floods in Pakistan -

This year's monsoon has proved to be disastrous for Pakistan. High rainfall in Pakistan is unprecedented in this season. As per the meteorologists, Pakistan's monsoon is shorter than India's monsoon because the monsoon winds which drench India, they travel to the north side to reach Pakistan and this process takes little time and these winds become lighter by pouring very much water on India. As per the data, the increase in average rainfall has been 400% in some areas like Sindh and Balochistan. This highly increased rainfall has served unexpected floods in Pakistan for which the nation was not prepared. Pakistan has been facing extreme heat in recent months. The temperature crossed 45 degree Celsius which was 7% more than the usual temperature in Pakistan. As we know that warm air holds moisture and when it comes down it takes torrents with it. These changing phenomena are bringing flash floods in Pakistan. The effects of global warming and climate change are becoming more evident every year.

India's feelings for people of Pakistan-

India's Prime minister Narendra Modi has expressed his concerns about the impact of floods in Pakistan. He tweeted - "Saddened to see the devastation caused by the floods in Pakistan. We extend our heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims, the injured and all those affected by this natural calamity and hope for an early restoration of normalcy".

Pakistan's PM Shehbaz Sharif expressed gratitude to PM Modi for condolences over the human and material losses caused by floods in Pakistan.

Has India helped Pakistan before?

Last time India extended its help to Pakistan in 2014 in the natural disaster. India also sent aid and assistance to Pakistan in 2010 during floods. Pakistan faced an earthquake crisis in 2005, India was there to support Pakistan. But now, when the relations between two countries have deteriorated to new lows, it will be interesting to see what step India will take. India has always helped its neighbors under its 'neighborhood first policy'. Recently, India also supported Sri Lanka in its economic crisis with around $4 billion.

What is the current status of India - Pakistan relations?

India has abrogated Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcated into 2 union territories in 2019. In response to this, Pakistan had canceled its trade with India but recently in 2021, Pakistan restarted importing sugar and cotton from India.

After becoming a member of WTO (World Trade Organization),India quickly provided MFN (Most Favored Nation) status to Pakistan under which Pakistan gets Indian items on low tariffs from India. Pakistan never granted the MFN status to India. After the Pulwama attack on 14th February 2019 in which India lost its 40 soldiers, India canceled the MFN status of Pakistan.

India's stand on sending help to Pakistan-

Pakistan has asked for help around the globe to help its people. As per the officials, India is considering the proposal of sending help to the people of Pakistan. However, no official announcement has been made in this regard. Also, India has made it clear that there will be no normalcy of trade between the two nations.