430 PEOPLE have been killed after three days of monsoon rain caused intense flooding and saw scores of rivers burst their banks.
Over a million people are believed to be affected by the disasters, according to United Nations estimates.
The rain has seen many towns and villages washed away, with many others under several metres of water. The city of Peshawar – with a population of three million – is completely cut off to the outside world.
Pakistani officials worry that more people could be affected with rivers continuing to rise in coming days as the rains show no sign of abating – meaning that the death toll is almost certain to rise.
The local information minister told Al Jazeera that rescue efforts were being hampered by a lack of suitable equipment.
The rains are the deadliest to hit the region since 1929.
With the relief efforts likely to require a major internationally coordinated fund-raising drive, it remains to be seen how active a role the United States may take in offering assistance.
The leaking last week of over 92,000 pages of war logs in Afghanistan revealed publically that the Pakistani defence forces had been assisting the Taliban in resisting the occupation of American forces in the country.
The leak drove a wedge between the two countries and it remains to be seen whether the United States will put politics in the way of humanitarian need.
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