16 August, 2010: US provided additional elements for temporary shelter of flood victims. Regarding the coordination of International community for flood aid, Saudi King directed to launch campaign for the help of flood victims, NATO also offered ‘air bridge’ UN and OIC announced to have session for the flooding situation. Keerthar canal regulators have broken down the canal bank due to rising flood flow. New flood tides thunder into Dera Allah Yar. There is high flood pressure at Sukkur and Guddu Barrages. Flood victims are still facing high deficiency of food and potable water. More than the cost of 1 billion rupees, crops have been destroyed and 20 more villages come under flood tide in Sindh today.

15 August, 2010: Ban Ki Moon arrived in Pakistan today and PM Gillani briefs him on flood situation. Flood torrent hits Balochistan and wrecks havoc in some nearby villages of the river Indus. Flood flow is proceeding towards ‘Ostai’ and “Gaudakhta” in Khyber PakhtunKhwa. Canada pledges 33 million dollars France and Jordan send an increased aid. The situation of flood victims is going to be more deteriorated and people messed with police in Sukkur. In Punjab, Khan Garh is under flood waves because the water of drain canal struck to “Shehar Sultan”. In Khyber PakhtunKhwa Swat and Kabul River are bearing high level flooding. Land communication of Gilgit Baltistan has been disconnected.

14 August, 2010: Flood in Chenab River entered in the vast land of Behlol Pur near Gujrat. Gujrat is announced under hazard of flood by water control authority. Far reaching areas of Sukkur barrage are still under flood in Indus river turned its way towards Jackobabad. Noshehra is facing great trouble due to flood and PM visited Noshehra to console the people and to examine the administrative arrangements for the effected people. Hillary Clinton asked Mr. Zardari about flooding situation via phone call. This year the whole nation celebrated “Jashn-e-Azadi” simply due to flood grief.
Shahbaz Sharif Proposed to levy “Flood Tax” to help out the flood affected people. On the other hand Khyber PakhtunKhwa demanded 10 billion rupees at once to cop with flood disaster. The situation is going to be more and more worsen.

13 August, 2010: Inundations backed by moon soon rains, started in July 2010, has swept more than 230 villages by engulfing the North-West of Pakistan. Million of people migrated to the nearer cities and left their asset in an unsecured milieu. Whole of the Muzaffargarh city near Multan on the bank of Chenab River, has been evacuated four days ago. Water has reached in the streets of Muzaffargarh. Refugees are residing in the schools, colleges and railways stations with out food, medicines and other basic necessities of life.
The rescue teams of Pak Army, N60,s Volunteer group, and foreign troups of welfare organization are serving the people at their best level but the high number of effects is uncontrollable. PM, Yousaf Raza Gilani is still in the flooded areas to listen the cries. CM, Shahbaz Sharif is also serving the people but the political aims are on the priority yet. Total loss in monetary values is not calcutaleable. Although according to the UNO’s report Pakistan needs US $ 3.5 billion to offset the destructive work of flood.
The impact of this disaster is of many folds. The long term economic milieu will be disturbed due to the destruction of infrastructure. The economic growth would be squeezed as North-Western parts of Pakistan have gone far behind the rest of the country.
According to AP, 1600 people have been died yet and almost 13 million people have been disturbed by the recent flood which is the worst of its kind in the history of Pakistan. These estimates are not exact as it is difficult for the people to count the number of deaths in this flood. Dead bodies are floating in the water, houses have demolished, crops have been washed away and house animals have died in this flood. The number of people disturbed by the flood is more than the combined total of those hit by tsunami and earth quakes in Kashmir and Haiti as reported by UN.

After devastating the cities of KP including Peshawar, the deadly water is not stopping yet as the cities of Muzaffargarh, DG Khan, Layyah, Sukkar etc have been submerged in the water. Almost 20,000 villages have been inundated and most of them have been washed away completely from the earth. The Sukkar, Chasma barrages are still under threat and recieving exceptionally high flood.

All the five rivers of Indus, Chenab, Jehlum, Ravi and Satluj are flooding havoc in their respective areas.

“the recent spree of target killing in Sindh and Balochistan is a preplanned  conspiracy against Pakistan, while only judiciary could save a democracy in Pakistan.”

Karachi police has been politicized, he said, in Sindh it is need of the hour to extend real powers to the police for eradication of violence in the city. Target killing have hit the Balochistan very hard and in this perspective separatists force is becoming stronger in the province, he noted.
A target killing is backed by some foreign players. Alston, a New York University law professor, said the use of unmanned aerial vehicles by intelligence agencies such as CIA to carry out target killing in Afghanistan, Pakistan and elsewhere is particularly fraught because of the secrecy surrounding such operations. Although not illegal as such, CIA drone attacks are more likely to breach the rules of war than similar operations carried out by armed force, who are more familiar with international low and can support to non-lethal means because they have troops on the ground, Alston said. The perpetrators only want, Rehman Malik, Interior Minister said, to destabilize the nation. He narrated that the recent violence in Karachi is not just because target killing but due to the ongoing feuds between land mafia groups.
MQM, a gift of General Zia, is one of the root causes of disturbances spread in Karachi. Karachi, before the inception of MQM was a city of lights but today it is a place of darkness. Roods are blacked, the bazaars are closed, and offices are out of work. The true reason behind is, what we call lust for power.
MQM blamed ANP for target killing; ANP accuses MQM for lying, while Rehman Malik says a third element is involved. These target killing are not just limited to ANP and MQM, because other provinces are also not out of the heat of this fire. But Karachi has been reeling from violent seismic activity along its ethnic and political fault times—not the collision of geological plates nearby. 4 days ago, armed Sindhi and Pashtun activists exchanged tit-for-tat murders in the middle class Gulshan-e-jouhar area. Since the start of this year, target killings have claimed the lives of 41 innocent people. Massive civil unrest in Karachi is an indicator of the strength of centrifugal tendencies inside multi-ethnic Pakistan, which has historically been deeply challenged in managing its diversity.

The above suggested measures can be taken not only to facilitate the timely completion of the IPG project but also will be helpful to the successful management of the operation of pipeline in addition to bringing prosperity to the Balochistan relevant districts of IPGP. It will also be a progressive step coupled with long run prove to be a stepping stone for the whole country into an era of prosperity and economic boom.

Unemployment in Pakistan

Economy of an individual is at the utmost priority of every democratic as well as welfare state. Since the dawn of human history, individual needs have been prioritized by every human being. These individual needs can be met by proper sources of employment. After the transformation of the world from a feudal to an industrial society, the needs of an individual have risen sharply, giving due importance to finance.In Pakistan, due to gigantic rise in population, individual finances have been disturbed a lot. This is because of rising unemployment. The major cause of unemployment in Pakistan are following.

The first cause of unemployment or joblessness in Pakistan is worsening law and order situation. Owing to this negative social phenomenon, foreign direct investment is sliding down to the bottom. According to the economic survey of Pakistan, in the current decade FDI was minimum last year.Also investors are loosing confidence in the political and economic system of the country therefore they are reluctant to invest in any new business venture. Resultantly, new jobs are not generating while the job seekers are rising continuously in the country.
Secondly, Agriculture is account for the maximum job provision in the country. Agriculture sector is facing severe challenges of water shortage, climatic changes and technological backwardness in recent years. These factors have hit the per acre yield negatively which caused loosing of jobs of several people. In 2009-10, agriculture showed a growth of only 2% against the target of 3.8% while nearly 62% of Pakistan population is living in rural areas, and is directly or indirectly linked with agriculture for their livelihood.
Thirdly, Industry is also a heaven for educated as well as semi-educated labour force in the country. Pakistan industry is short listing its labour because of gradual decrease in demand as well as acute energy shortage. Energy shortfall crosses 5500 MW at time causing severe damage to production capacity.
Fourthly, World economic depression coupled with American war against Terror has also put negative impacts on our economy. It has not only doubled our expenditures on military front but also defaced Pakistan’s image in international arena. These factors have put international investment in Pakistan at risk. Therefore, Pakistan is not attracting new investment causing unemployment in the country.
Fifthly, United States of America spent 368 billion in 2007 on research and development whereas Pakistan’s attention towards this sector is the least. By spending on education and research, we can create more specialized fields thus generating more jobs. In the 2010 budget, Pakistan has earmarked only 2% of its GDP on education which is the lowest in whole of the region.
Sixthly, Population increase is also a cause of unemployment in Pakistan. Till 2010, Pakistan’s population is 173.54 million wheras most of the population is unable to survive in the financial race because of illiteracy. In Spite of these factors poor governance, deep rooted corruption, faulty educational system, lack of quality educational institutions and feudalism are also aggravating the situation further.
Finally, we can hold the government responsible for the its poor performance in financial sector. Poor governance have marred the performance of our economic sector by every side and government has taken only cosmetic measures to redress the problem. Dr. Ishrat Hussain suggestions to improve the governance have been put on the backburner.

“Built upon the desire to prevail are all other forms of corruption. Degrading others or their realities or property makes it easier to prevail. Gaining lying stifles the competing influence of others”.

In this scenario, there is no room for cooperation, fair play and justice. It is all about who is better ,powerful, influential and dominating than the others and also about how you use your advantages to subdue your opponent by talking away his or her assets.
While addressing to the constituent assembly of Pakistan, Quaid-e-Azam said,

“One of the biggest curses from which India is suffering is bribery and corruption that really is a poison. We must put that down with an iron hand”.

His words were not directed at any particular group. He foresaw corruption as a deadly virus, a poison which could sap the very foundation of a state and lay it open to all kinds of dangers.
According to Navak,

“Acquiring power is the purpose of corruption, since power is needed to prevail over other persons. When succeeding, power is acquired, and its desirability causes the behaviour to be repeated”.

The positive rewards are the acquisition of wealth, power and dominance. The act of corruption thus becomes so automatic in the human brain that it escapes the awareness of the perpetrator of corruption. Corruption in Pakistan comes in as many forms as there could be. It comes in the form of bribery receiving and giving. It exists in the show of power and influence through real and concocted relationships with people in authority and the gains they can obtain from others. The worst form of corruption is intellectual and professional dishonesty to please or benefit a few individual at the cost of others. Equally dangerous is sycophancy which misleads people in decision making and has extremely harmful effects.
In America the rising expenses of elections have created a strange situation. The jewish business magnates have turned into kingmakers because of their money and the entire American nation is being held hostage to their ability to provide enormous amount of money for the election of key contenders. This is also a form of corruption which is monopolised by a few people.
The position in the East is worse because the democratic system has not been institutionalized. And because of this practice the level of corruption is much higher while the level of discipline much lower.
In china and India corruption is gaining momentum. The indiscipline is also following in the footsteps of corruption and several uprisings point out that corruption has gained firm roots in soil too.

The major reason of fast creeping corruption are political instability, poverty, unequal structure of society, unemployment, lack of accountability, weak political institutions and absence of rule of law. Resultant they are affecting political stability, equal distribution of resources and power, confidence of local and foreign investors and political institutions.
It is pity that we are working without effective planning. Whole of the society is running aimlessly with no destination or target in view. In the process, everyone picks whatever he finds on his way. It is also one of major reason of backwardness. If we want to kill corruption at grass root level, we will have to cap those cavities where the virus of corruption nourished. If we confine ourselves to the systems alone, we will, at the most, be applying cosmetic treatment. It merely touches the tip of the iceberg. For a more lasting solution we will have to adopt effective measures to check corruption. Some of them (given below) can be helpful in reducing it if not uprooting it.
1.    People should be made aware of their rights. By providing general awareness to the masses, the chances of grabbing money from the people lowers to the minimum.
2.    Institutions should be made strong for proper working of the democratic system.
3.    Proper system of accountability and check and balance should be implemented.
4.    Red tapism is the major cause of corruption and e-governance is the best solution for this solving this problem.
5.    Anti-social activities should be condemned and resisted.
6.    Justice delayed is justice denied. In time justice can minimize corruption practices,
7.    Salaries and wages should be increased in order to decrease the chances of corruption.
8.    The unemployed class should be provided jobs and recruited purely on merit.
9.    Education system must be revised and improved according to national needs.
10.  Stable governments are essential to prevail justice and to uproot corruption.
It is multi-faceted problem so it should be countered on all possible fronts with sincerity. We must reform ourselves. Only proper planning and strictly implemented policies with public support can put halt to this growing menace.

Crop |     Sowing season |     Harvesting season
Kharif    |    April – June         |      Oct – Dec
Rabi       |    Oct – Dec               |       April – May

Major crops of Pakistan are wheat, rice, maize, cotton and sugar cane. These major crops contributed 7.7%  last year against the set target of 4.5%. Minor crops are canola, onions, mangoes and pulses which contributed 3.6% as there was no virus attack last year. Fishery and Forestry contributes 16.6% and 8.8% respectively.
Though the agricultural sector is facing problems in Pakistan yet the major chunk of money comes from this sector. Following are the major causes of agricultural problems in Pakistan which disturb the agricultural growth or development in Pakistan.
Firstly,No mechanism has been adopted to eradicate the soil erosion and even after harvesting nothing is done to improve or restore the soil energy. Therefore, the fertility of soil is decreasing day by day. The thickness of fertile layer of soil in Pakistan is more than 6 inches but the average yield is lower than other countries where layer of fertile soil is only 4 inches.
Secondly, water wastage is very high in our country. The archaic method of flood irrigation is still in practice in whole of the country which wastes almost 50 to 60 percent of water. A new irrigation system called drip irrigation system has been introduced in many parts of the world. This not only saves water but also gives proper quantity of water according to the needs of plants.
Thirdly,owing old methods of cultivation and harvesting, Pakistan has low yield per acre that means the average crop in Pakistan is just 1/4th of that of advance states. Where as Nepal, India and Bangladesh are using modern  scientific methods to increase their yield per acre. For this purpose, these states are using modern machines to improve their yield.
Fourthly, the small farmers are increasing in our country as the lands are dividing generation by generation. So, there are large number of farmers who own only 4 acres of land. These small farmers do not get credit facilities to purchase seeds, pesticides, fertilizers etc. Additionally, a large area of land is owned by feudals and the farmers who work on their lands, are just tenants. This uncertain situation of occupancy neither creates incentive of work nor does attract capital investment.
Fifthly,water logging and salinity is increasing day by day. No effective measures have been taken to curb it. As the storage capacity of the dams is decreasing so the water availability per acre is also decreasing. Therefore, the farmers are installing more and more tube wells to irrigate their crops. This is why salinity is becoming the major issue in most parts of Punjab and Sindh.
Sixthly,focusing more on land, crops and yield problems the man behind the plough is always ignored. While formulating the 5 or 10 years plan, no emphasize has been laid on the importance of solving the problems of farmers. Most of the farmers are illiterate, poor and ignorant. In this wake the loans issued by ADBP or other banks are used by them in other fields like repayment of debts, marriage of daughters etc, in spite of its befitting use in agricultural sector.
Lastly, The only mean of communication in rural areas is T.V or radio so it is urgently needed on the part of these mass communication resources to air the programmes related to the new agricultural techniques and allied sciences. But these programmes should be telecast in regional or local languages. Because lack of guidance is the main reason of farmers backwardness. The communication gap between well qualified experts and simple farmers have not been bridged. Availability of these experts is not ensured in rural areas as they are reluctant to go there.
Pakistan is rich in fertile land yet the land is being wasted in different ways. 79.6% million hectors of land is culturable where as only 20.43% million hectors is cultivated. The reason can be described in two points.

1. A major area is owned by feudals. It is difficult to manage such a huge area so only that part is cultivated which is easy to manage, the rest is left ignored.
2. The rise of industrialization has given threat to this sector. People are migrating to cities and cities are expanding, thus new towns and colonies are constructed on fertile lands.

The irrigation system of Pakistan needs improvement as about 67% of the land is irrigated with canals.
Apart form these issues the monopoly of Foreign Big Wigs and false policies of government cannot be ignored.
Monopoly Of Foreign Companies:The pesticides companies are sorting partnership with “World Bank”. These companies are selling adulterated but expensive pesticides to a poor farmer thus leaving him helpless. These pesticides are not only hazardous for health but also a filling the pockets of companies. By moving according to world bank these companies are gaining their own aims. Moreover there is a conflict of interests. It is not ensured that either the company conducting agreement is basically trying to get access to international market or just working according to their aims.
91% of genetically engineered (GE) seeds is made and owned by one US Company called Monsanto. The vast majority of consumers around the world are against GE foods and crop as GE has been associated with health risks, loss of biodiversity, increased use of toxic weed killers and other environmental problems. 85% of GE crops are concentrated in just 3 countries i-e United States, Argentina and Canada. Globally G.E crops cover less than one percent of arable land. Farmer around the world have experienced problems with Monsanto’s BT cotton.    Researchers from Cornell University reported that Chinese GM cotton farmers are losing money due to secondary pests. After seven years, populations of other insects such as mi rids, have increased so much that farmers are now having to spray their crops up to 20 times per season to control them, according to the study of 481 Chinese farmers in five major cotton producing provinces.
This cotton seed does not show any resistance against virus attacks and needs 8 months to give yield thus no other crop can be cultivated on that land. This seed of cotton needs more water. Therefore, Pakistan has asked Monsanto to provide seeds which consume less water as Pakistan is moving towards the abyss of water shortage. It is a notorious organization that took the farmers to courts many times as it did not give ownership right to farmers to preserve seed. Even the seed of harvested crop cannot be used again for cultivation. Monopoly of Monsanto is clear when it is selling seed at RS 1700 per kg to Pakistan and RS 700 per kg to India. Glaringly, the Indian ministry of health asking to ban B.T cotton seed whereas in Kerala & Orrisa it is already banned. Not to ignore the gloomy side of this organization is that in the Vietnam where it provided “Agent Orange” dioxin bomb to U.S that is responsible for sever skin and genetic diseases.
Non-comprehensice Policies Of Pakistan:18 billion in budget was allocated for agricultural sector of Pakistan but the withdrawal of subsidy on pesticides and electricity on the conditions of IMF has done serious damage to this sector. Whereas America and European Union are giving a huge amount of subsidy to their farmers and that is a greatest hurdle in the implementation of W.T.O rules. Additionally, price policy is very weak. In Punjab sugar cane is sold 200 Rs. per 40 kilograms. It was purchased and later on stocked by Industrialist in their stores. When Brazil bought sugarcane from International Market and prices become high, the Pakistan sugar mills owners projected demand of selling sugar at high prices, thus Pakistan faced sugar crisis. Then Pakistan had to import Sugar at high prices therefore, the prices of sugar went high in local markets.
Solutions For Agricultural Problems In Pakistan:

1. Feudalism should be abolished and lands should be allotted to poor farmers. This will enhance the productivity and per acre yield of all the crops in Pakistan. Taxes should be levied on Agricultural income but not without devising limit of land holding. Other wise it would directly effect poor farmers.
2. Federal Seed Certification and Federal Seed Registration is approved but it should taken responsible steps in approving seeds as it has already approved 36 new kinds of seeds. Specially, those seeds should be banned which can create pest problem in near future. These seeds are of cotton mainly. International seed makers are providing those seeds which are not successful in our country as these seeds are not tested on our soil.
3. A new Agricultural policy must be framed in which following steps should be focussed on.
   -    Small farmer must be focused. The major problems of small farmers should be solved first.
   -   Consumer friendly policy must be projected.
   -   Productivity enhancement programme must be constituted to adjust and support prices.
   -    Different Agricultural zones should be introduced. As Multan in famous for its Mangoes and citrus fruits so it must be made Mango, citrus zone by which Perishable products should be exported. This would enhance agro based industry and increase foreign reserves. Pakistan Agricultural storage & Services Corporation needs to take steps in this regard.
   -    Corporate farming like giving lands to Mitehels, Nestle and Multinational companies is also a good idea that will also help those who own a large area of fertile land but can’t manage it.
   -    Surplus vegetables and fruits must be exported. A Rs 39 million scheme has been approved for the current fiscal year for establishment of agro export processing zone for fruits, vegetables and flowers. This will also help in commercializing agriculture
   -    Latest mechinery should be provided to the farmers to increase the per acre yield. This provision should be on easy installments so that the farmers can avoid the burden of loans. If possible subsidy should be given by the government of modern machinery.-    Modern techniques of irrigation can solve the problems of irrigation in Pakistan. This includes drip irrigation and sprinkle irrigation methods. By using this technique the farmers can save a huge some of money which he pays for irrigation through tubewells and tracktors.-     More dams should be constructed on Indus, Jehlum and Chenab rivers. This will enhance the storage capacity of water and reduce the per acre cost of all the crops. This step will also reduce the salinity chances of the lands as less tubewell water will be flooded to the lands which cause salinity..