ISLAMABAD // As the death toll climbed above 800 yesterday, survivors affected by the worst flooding Pakistan has seen since 1929 lashed out at the lack of response from the government, accusing it of ignoring their plight.
"We have seen people drowning at close distance. But no one could help anyone. Everyone feared for his own life," a resident of Nowshera in Khyber Pakhtoonkwa province angrily told local television.
Sher Jan, a resident of Akora Khattak, said around 300 people are stranded in his village. "Everything has been destroyed. The government should provide us with food and shelter. We do not have any food left."
The provincial information minister, Mian Iftikhar Hussain, while speaking yesterday to local media in Peshawar, one of the hardest his areas, along with Lower Dir, Upper Dir, Nowshera, Hangu, Kohat, Manshera and Battagram, defended the rescue effort, saying 3,789 people had been rescued by relief workers and army officials. Government estimates put the number of people still trapped by the floods at 26,758.
"Government had taken pre-emptive measures and intimated people of affected area to shift to safer places, but the emergency call was not ... properly heeded by people," Mr Hussain said, adding that the floods have badly affected the communication network of the province.
Rehman Malik, Pakistan's interior minister, visited hard-hit Naran in Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa yesterday and acknowledged that food and medicine were in short supplies. "I have asked officials to arrange a helicopter that would bring medicines to Naran tomorrow," he said.
Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani, after touring the devastated areas, also promised more help while television networks broadcast images of people clinging to poles and ropes to escape drowning as strong currents of water gushed by.
Garhi Waris Khan, a small village in Charsadda district, was destroyed due to the floods, residents there said. "For the past three days, we are lying on the roadside. We have no clothes, no food." one resident told a local news network.
In Nowshera, vast swaths of land were marooned under water and bridges washed away.
Alam Zeb, a police constable, said he had gone to help the stranded people along with a contingent of 17 police officers.
"We are ourselves stranded in... AbbaKhel for the past three days. I have tried to contact the police high-ups but no help has arrived," he said. "Mobile signals in this area are very weak. I managed to talk to one colleague in Nowshera city. He said an army helicopter would rescue us but we are still waiting. We saw a helicopter flying nearby earlier today but it turned before it could approach us. We waved and made a lot of noise but no one heard our voices."
Farjad Abbasi, an assistant manager at Kunhar View Hotel in Naran, a picturesque valley and a popular tourist attraction in Mansehra district of the Khyber Pakhtoonkhawa province, said the city is now empty of tourists as roads there were cleared yesterday. July 29 was the worst day of the rains when Kunhar River overflowed and washed away three hotels along its banks, he said.
"Roads were submerged in three feet water. Life came to a total standstill. It rained for 68 consecutive hours," Mr Abbasi said.
He said thousands of tourists had thronged the valley in recent weeks. "Our hotel has 10 rooms and about 60 people, including families and a... university trip was staying with us. We provided free accommodation to tourists and gave 50 percent off on food".
"Everyone lived in a state of fear and uncertainty. There has been no electricity for the past three days. We had been running generators and fuel but since day before yesterday there is a shortage of fuel.
He said most of the tourists were forced to spend the nights on hilltops overlooking the city. "There was no shelter and people were forced to spend the night under the open sky," he said.
"Right now it is cloudy here. One cannot say if it will rain or not. I am hoping it doesn't," Mr Abbasi said.
foreign.desk@thenational.ae
LUKA CHUPPI
Director: Laxman Utekar
Producer: Maddock Films, Jio Cinema
Cast: Kartik Aaryan, Kriti Sanon, Pankaj Tripathi, Vinay Pathak, Aparshakti Khurana
Rating: 3/5
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
Three ways to boost your credit score
Marwan Lutfi says the core fundamentals that drive better payment behaviour and can improve your credit score are:
1. Make sure you make your payments on time;
2. Limit the number of products you borrow on: the more loans and credit cards you have, the more it will affect your credit score;
3. Don't max out all your debts: how much you maximise those credit facilities will have an impact. If you have five credit cards and utilise 90 per cent of that credit, it will negatively affect your score.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Three ways to limit your social media use
Clinical psychologist, Dr Saliha Afridi at The Lighthouse Arabia suggests three easy things you can do every day to cut back on the time you spend online.
1. Put the social media app in a folder on the second or third screen of your phone so it has to remain a conscious decision to open, rather than something your fingers gravitate towards without consideration.
2. Schedule a time to use social media instead of consistently throughout the day. I recommend setting aside certain times of the day or week when you upload pictures or share information.
3. Take a mental snapshot rather than a photo on your phone. Instead of sharing it with your social world, try to absorb the moment, connect with your feeling, experience the moment with all five of your senses. You will have a memory of that moment more vividly and for far longer than if you take a picture of it.
THE BIO: Martin Van Almsick
Hometown: Cologne, Germany
Family: Wife Hanan Ahmed and their three children, Marrah (23), Tibijan (19), Amon (13)
Favourite dessert: Umm Ali with dark camel milk chocolate flakes
Favourite hobby: Football
Breakfast routine: a tall glass of camel milk
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
if you go
The flights
Etihad and Emirates fly direct to Kolkata from Dh1,504 and Dh1,450 return including taxes, respectively. The flight takes four hours 30 minutes outbound and 5 hours 30 minute returning.
The trains
Numerous trains link Kolkata and Murshidabad but the daily early morning Hazarduari Express (3’ 52”) is the fastest and most convenient; this service also stops in Plassey. The return train departs Murshidabad late afternoon. Though just about feasible as a day trip, staying overnight is recommended.
The hotels
Mursidabad’s hotels are less than modest but Berhampore, 11km south, offers more accommodation and facilities (and the Hazarduari Express also pauses here). Try Hotel The Fame, with an array of rooms from doubles at Rs1,596/Dh90 to a ‘grand presidential suite’ at Rs7,854/Dh443.
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
