President Zardari rejects criticism of foreign trip

[Maroof Hussain Chishty]

President Zardari rejects criticism of foreign trip

Wednesday, 11 Aug, 2010

SINGAPORE: President Asif Ali Zardari has defended his decision to travel abroad while the country battled the worst floods in decades, saying he had helped focus international attention on the plight of the victims.

Zardari has faced the brunt of public anger as the administration struggles to help an estimated 14 million people hit by the floods, compounding the misery of a nation tackling a deadly militancy and a failing economy.

But in an opinion piece for the Wall Street Journal, Zardari said he had used his trip to France and Britain to mobilise foreign assistance, money and food for the flood victims.

“Some have criticised my decision, saying it represented aloofness, but I felt that I had to choose substance over symbolism,” he said.

The British government had pledged $24 million in aid, following his meeting with Prime Minister David Cameron, Zardari said. He had also been in touch with the US
government, which had promised $35 million in relief funds.

The floods triggered by heavy monsoon rain over the upper reaches of the Indus river basin have ploughed a swathe of destruction more than 1,000 km long from northern Pakistan to the southern province of Sindh. More than 1,600 people have died.

The United Nations says the disaster is the biggest the country has ever faced and it would cost billions of dollars to rehabilitate the victims and rebuild ruined infrastructure.

“As I return to Pakistan, I bring back tangible results that will help the flood victims in the short run and lay the foundations for national recovery in the long run,” Zardari said.

“I might have benefitted personally from the political symbolism of being in the country at the time of natural disaster. But hungry people can't eat symbols. The situation demanded action, and I acted to mobilise the world.”

Even before the floods struck, Zardari's approval ratings had been falling. Only one in five Pakistanis viewed him positively, a poll by the US-based Pew Research Center released late last month showed.

His prime rival, ex-prime minister Nawaz Sharif, had a 71 per cent favourability rating, according to the poll.