Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani made a stunning statement at the cabinet meeting here that the devastating floods have caused massive damage estimated to be $45 billion.

Meanwhile, Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit told reporters here at a briefing on Thursday that pledges for flood relief to Pakistan have exceeded billion dollars, as UN officials here reported that further funding has stalled.

The statement was viewed with skepticism as very exaggerated and more the four times the assessment of international organisations and domestic analysts. It is almost equal to the expenditures and collateral trade and other losses suffered in the war on terror over the past nine years.

Briefing newsmen after the meeting, Gilani said the cabinet was informed that the floods had affected 79 of the 124 districts - 24 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 19 in Sindh, 12 in Punjab, 10 in Balochistan and seven each in Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan.

Referring to the complaints by chief ministers of Punjab and KP - that they have yet to receive any federal help, the Prime Minister said the federal government has released massive funds to the provinces under the 7th National Finance Commission Award and relief funds would be disbursed after the Council of Common Interests evolved a mechanism.

He said the national economy had grown by 4.1 per cent last year and was expected to grow four per cent this year, but it might end up at 2.5 per cent, causing massive job losses and affecting incomes of thousands of families.

The Prime Minister said the devastation might also affect revenue collection and increase expenditures, widening the budget deficit.

It would hit the textile and sugar sectors and in turn affect the balance of payments and external resource stability, he said.

Gilani reiterated his earlier statement that 80 per cent of foreign relief aid would be routed through independent non-government organisations (NGOs) but stopped short of repeating his remarks that half of this assistants is spent by NGOs is wasted on their administrative expenses.

The statement was strongly resented and refuted by NGOs. Former information minister Javed Jabbar took strong exception to Gilani’s remarks. He asked the PM to convene a meeting of representatives of NGOs and clear the position.

A statement by the UN office here said relief efforts in flood-ravaged Pakistan were being stretched by the “unprecedented scale” of the disaster, with the flow of international aid almost at a standstill.

“We need to reach at least eight million people, from the Karakoram Mountain Range in the north to the Arabian Sea in the south,” Manuel Bessler, head of the UN's coordination agency, OCHA, said in a statement.

Lahore, September 2
The Jamaat-ud-Dawah (JuD) has established an extensive network in the Punjab province to collect funds and relief materials in the name of flood victims despite the Pakistan government's contention that hardline groups will not be allowed to operate in garb of charitable organisations.

Observers say the JuD, described by the UN Security Council as a front for the banned LeT, has emerged as the most organised “NGO” in flood relief operations in Punjab. The group has set up 67 camps in Lahore alone, more than any other organisation, to collect relief goods and cash.

Though the UN Security Council banned the JuD in the wake of the 2008 Mumbai attacks, the Pakistani government is yet to follow suit. This loophole has resulted in the JuD openly mounting relief efforts and using the floods as an opportunity to muster public sympathy, observers said. During a recent visit to the flood-hit areas of Muzaffargarh, Dera Ghazi Khan, Kot Addu, Bhakkar, Layyah and Mianwali, it was found a majority of relief camps were run by the Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation, the new name adopted by the JuD for relief work after authorities cracked down on it in 2008.

At some places, the JuD did not bother to hide behind the name of the Falah-e-Insaniyat. The camps are decorated with the JuD flags, which feature a black sword on a background of black and white horizontal stripes. Even in Lahore, the group has set up scores of camps in the name of both JuD and Falah-e-Insaniyat to collect relief goods. — PTI

Washington, September 2
A radical environmentalist, who stormed the Discovery Channel's headquarters with explosives strapped to his body and took three persons hostage at gunpoint, was shot dead by the police after a four-hour dramatic standoff at the building in a suburb of Washington in the US.

The three hostages rescued by the police were unhurt during yesterday's siege of the channel's headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland. The gunman was identified as James Lee, 43, an Asian American who was against the programmes shown by Discovery, which is known for its wildlife documentaries. It all began around 1 pm local time yesterday, when Lee entered the building with a bomb strapped to his chest, the police said. The gunman, who also had explosive devices in his backpack, then took three persons hostage and asked others not to leave the building.

The police immediately cordoned off the area and evacuated other parts of the building. About 100 children in a day care centre at the building were safely moved to a nearby location. Meanwhile, the police started negotiations with Lee, who demanded that the Discovery Channel must broadcast to the world their commitment to save the planet. J Thomas Manger, Montgomery County Police Chief, told reporters after the standoff police officers were able to get into very close position during the negotiations.

Lee was having a device on his body and was holding another device, both with blinking lights. “They were close enough to hear what he was saying and what he was doing on camera. At one point the suspect pulled out a handgun and pointed it at one of the hostages. At that point, our tactical units moved in, they shot the suspect, the suspect is deceased,” Manger said.

All 1,900 persons, who work in the building, escaped unharmed. — PTI

Islamabad, September 2
A group of 100 Indian fishermen was released from a jail in the southern port city of Karachi today as part of a move by Pakistani authorities to free 442 fishermen who have completed their prison terms. The fishermen were released from Malir Jail this morning and set off for Lahore to be repatriated to India, prison officials said.

The fishermen are scheduled to crossover to India at the Wagah land border tomorrow. The Pakistani authorities freed the first batch of 100 fishermen on August 30.

The third and fourth batches will be released on September 4 and 6.

All fishermen were arrested for violating Pakistan’s maritime boundary. A majority of them were held in prison for periods of up to three years even after completing prison terms ranging from six months to a year.

Most of them hail from the coastal state of Gujarat.

The government ordered the release of 442 fishermen who had completed their prison terms after the NGOs - Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research and Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum - filed a case in the SC. — PTI

Washington, September 2
Palestinian and Israeli leaders met here today under the US brokered direct peace talks after 20 months hiatus, with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pressing them to forget the long history of failed parleys and overcome “suspicion and skepticism”.

“The decision to sit at this table was not easy... I want to thank all of you for joining us today to relaunch negotiations,” Clinton, who is hosting the talks, told Palestinian Authority President Mahmud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Praising the two leaders for their “courage and commitment”, she said: “We understand the suspicion and skepticism that so many feel born out of years of conflict and frustrated hopes." Clinton, US Special Envoy to Middle East George Mitchell and other US officials were to work with Netanyahu, Abbas and their teams during an intense three hours of negotiations.

“A true peace, a lasting peace will be achieved only with mutual and painful concessions from both sides,” Netanyahu said, adding, “We have to get from disagreement to agreement - a big task.”Netanyahu told Palestinian President Abbas that just as“ you expect us to recognise a Palestinian state as the nation state of the Palestinian people, we expect you to recognise Israel as the nation state of the Jewish people.” “Mutual recognition between us is indispensible to clarifying to our people that the conflict between us is over,” he was quoted as saying by Haaretz newspaper.

Speaking in Arabic after Netanyahu, Abbas asked Israel to end fresh settlements in the West Bank on land that the Palestinians seek for a future state. — PTI