, The Washington Post, 24 August 2010

EXCERPT: "Pakistan's president said Monday that the calamitous flooding that is wreaking havoc across his country could foment public anger and embolden Islamist militants, but he expressed confidence that his government would survive the crisis. Asif Ali Zardari, in a meeting with a small group of foreign journalists, called it the 'ideal hope of the radical' that the floods would discredit Pakistan's government, which has been criticized for a slow and muddled response. 'One has to fight,' he said, against extremist groups that aim to scoop up orphaned children and 'create them into robots.' Even before floodwaters submerged one-fifth of Pakistan's territory, Zardari's unpopular, U.S.-backed government was struggling to contain a rising insurgency and cope with a weak economy. The floods have caused widespread destruction and left at least 6 million homeless, further straining the nation and providing an opening to Islamist charities, some of which have provided aid to victims. Some of the challenges to the government were underscored over the past two days. On Monday, militants broke a lull in attacks by carrying out three bombings that killed at least 36 people in the restive northwest, where the flooding began."

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Related articles:
, TIME, 24 August 2010
Pakistan moves choppers from Taliban fight to relief, Reuters, 24 August 2010
These are not Pakistan's worst floods [OpEd], The Express Tribune, 24 August 2010
There is no credibility deficit: Gilani, The Express Tribune, 24 August 2010
Pakistan in political crisis amid allegations of flooding aid corruption, The Telegraph, 23 August 2010

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