The politics of flood relief

When tragedy strikes, victims need all the help they can get, no matter what the source. It may seem insensitive to fret about the role alleged militant groups are playing in providing aid and relief to the victims of the flooding that has devastated Khyber-Pakthunkhwa and Punjab. Certainly, controversial groups like the Falah-i-Inaniyat, the renamed charity wing of the Jamaatud Dawa, have stepped up to fill the void left by government inaction. In the short-term, they are providing services that no other group is but the fear is that they will capitalise on their presence in the region to convert residents to their cause.

Twice before in Pakistan’s recent history, alleged militant groups have assumed the role that is the responsibility of the government: after the 2009 military operation in Swat led to a refugee crisis and after the 2005 earthquake. In both cases there were fears that the Jamaatud Dawa was using its refugee camps as recruitment centres. To prevent a repeat, the government needs to either take over the administration of relief camps or work with the group to ensure that its work is solely charitable and not propagandist. Even this is a band-aid solution. To truly prevent disaster relief from becoming politicised by extremist elements, the government needs to be more effective in its response.

The flood-ravaged Khyber-Pakthunkhwa and Punjab should not become a battleground for the secular versus theocratic debate. A distinction needs to be made between militant outfits and mainstream religious parties. Rather than criticise the efforts of political parties they disagree with, secular parties need to step up and provide the same services.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 5^th, 2010.