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Monsoon floods that started in late June along the Indus River in northwest Pakistan have killed at least 2,000 people, destroyed an estimated 1.7 million acres of farmland and the livelihoods of 20 million people. More than 5 million people have been left homeless and more than a 1 million face the prospect of starvation. The United Nations has called the Pakistan floods the greatest humanitarian crisis in recent history with more people affected than in the 2004 Asian tsunami, the 2005 Pakistan earthquake, and the 2010 Haiti earthquake combined. Pakistan’s southern region is now expecting to see even more flooding as 800,000 people remain stranded. Forty more helicopters are needed, according to the World Food Programme, to reach those people and deliver aid. The U.S. has pledged $150 million, but aid to the Pakistani government, NGOs, and the UN has been trickling in very slowly. Some say the inadequate response to this disaster may have to do with the recent Wikileaks release of the Afghan War Diary documents, which show a continued relationship between Pakistan’s military spy service and the Taliban, even as Pakistan receives more than $1 billion a year from Washington for its help combating militants. The Pakistani government’s own response has been criticized by many. Pakistan’s President, Asif Ali Zardari visited Europe during the deadly floods. Writer Fatima Bhutto has criticized his actions saying, “Pakistan can ill afford a president who prioritizes his personal political future over the lives of millions of his citizens” and frames the event as “Zardari’s Katrina.” A well known Pakistani poet and writer, Fatima Bhutto is the granddaughter of former Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and the niece of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. She has written a book about the experiences of victims of the 2005 Kashmir earthquake and her latest book, “Songs of Blood and Sword: A Daughter’s Memoir,” is a biography of the Bhutto political family.

GUEST: Fatima Bhutto, author of “Songs of Blood and Sword: A Daughter’s Memoir”

Fatima Bhutto recommends Merlin USA for listeners to make donations to for Pakistan flood relief. Find out more at www.merlin-usa.org.

Fatima Bhutto’s website is fatimabhutto.com.pk.