Pakistani envoy needs to assure Irish aid donors

THE catastrophe that has struck Pakistan is gargantuan, but the Irish aid agencies and Government responded with customary spontaneity and wholehearted engagement, supported by the generosity and compassion of the Irish people.

However, the President of Pakistan, Asif Ali Zadari, chose to leave his country as this crisis unfolded to sip sparkling aqua minerale at the Elysée Palace and tea at Chequers, rather than ensuring his presence in Pakistan, his leadership and his moral authority clearly visible, connected to those in need and standing as a symbol of reassurance to potential aid donors overseas.

Zadari is the widower of Benazir Bhutto, who was twice prime minister of Pakistan, and he is reportedly the fifth richest person in that country. He explained to the television viewers of the world, from London, that responsibility for dealing with this crisis had been delegated to others, hence his freedom to travel overseas to socialise, network and discuss world affairs. But a major crisis also creates massive uncertainty and, especially, a vacuum of authority.