ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN (ANS) -- Stranded Pakistani Christians are now receiving much-needed emergency help from a group called the All Pakistan Minorities Alliance (APMA).

People flee the flooded areas in Basera, near Muzafargarh in Punjab province (Photo: EPA/Matiullah Achakzai)

Massive rains and subsequent flooding in Pakistan have claimed the lives of thousands of people and left millions homeless across the country. The floods that began nearly a month ago with hammering monsoon rains in the northwest have now affected more than 17 million people, the U.N. estimates.

Most of the 1,500 or so deaths that have occurred took place early in the flooding, but the crisis still is growing say sources within the country.

The ASSIST News Service (ANS) has learned that on Wednesday, August 18, 2010, the APMA “Flood Relief and Rescue Team,” led by Punjab's Christian provincial parliamentarian, Tahir Naveed Chaudhary, moved into action with their vital humanitarian work under the direction of Shahbaz Bhatti, the country’s Federal Minister for Minorities.

Mr. Chaudhary has visited our local ANS office and apprised our news service about the flood relief and rescue operation being carried out by the APMA for the stranded and overwhelmed Christian flood-stricken masses particularly, but also for other religious minorities affected by the disaster, deemed the worst in Pakistan’s history.

The Parliamentarian explained that a special meeting, chaired by himself, was conducted under the auspices of APMA at the National Press Club of Islamabad.

Other eminent APMA politicians who attended the seminar were Mrs. Najmi Saleem, a Christian provincial legislator and the APMA women’s wing coordinator for Punjab province, Prince Javed, Christian legislator of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Province, and Naveed Aamir Jeeva, a former parliamentarian and presently a member Central Executive Committee APMA.

Tahir Naveed Chaudhary, Christian legislator, addresses a gathering in Muzafargarh regarding another matter

Chaudhary said that, during the meeting, a plan was devised by APMA to help the stranded flood victims. He revealed that over 1,000 APMA activists were immediately deputed for flood relief and rescue operations.

“Cooking oil, dry milk, sugar, rice, wheat flour, biscuits and other edible items worth about USD $355,23.97 have now been distributed among the flood victims from Peshawar, the capital city of KP province, to Sargodha in Punjab province,” Mr. Chaudhary said in an exclusive interview by ANS.

He also revealed that APMA teams had visited churches, Hindu temples and Sikh Gurdwara’s, to help stranded Christians as well as other religious minorities.

ANS was also apprised that a campaign to collect funds and gifts by APMA activists has been was initiated.

“Our activists will go door-to-door and collect finds and gifts for the flood-stricken masses all across Pakistan,” Chaudhary added, “Christian clergymen and other dominant Christian elders have pledged that they will help APMA activists to achieve their goal.”

Both Mr. Bhatti, who is the head of APMA, and Mr. Chaudhary, a member of the Central Executive Committee of APMA, have now appealed foreign donors and international organizations to help APMA during this tough time.

Both of these Christian leaders have said that the devastation was terrible and hoped that all Pakistani and overseas donors would extend their hands to help APMA bring relief and aid to the flood victims.

Chaudhary added that now APMA was planning to “survey southern Punjab’s inundated areas” which he said “includes the terribly-hit Muzafargarh city and adjoining areas.”

“APMA plans to distribute tents, blankets, medicine and edibles there,” he said. “Therefore APMA must be helped by all God-fearing Pakistani individual donors and also international donors.”

ANS has also discovered that an APMA youth prayer meeting has been held for the flood victims at their head office in Sargodha, a city located in Punjab province in the northeast of Pakistan. It was conducted under the chair of Bishop Pervaiz Joseph, and Rev. Nasir Masih. The Christian young activists of the age range from 15-20 yrs participated in the prayer.

After the prayer meeting, Mr. Chaudhary, Mrs. Rubina Tasneeem, a Christian rights defender and member of local government Sargodha Assembly, Farrukh Tanvir, APMA youth leader Sargodha region, addressed the participants and urged them to not only to continue to pray for the flood victims but also participate in flood relief and rescue operations during their summer vacations.

Tanvir also urged the Christian youths to “forge unity, discipline and honesty in their ranks and work for the flood victims as well as study for the development of Pakistan.”

Note: Christians are the second largest religious minority community in Pakistan after Hindus. The total number of Christians in Pakistan is approximately 2,800,000 in 2008, or 1.6% of the population. Of these, approximately half are Roman Catholic and half Protestant. There also is a sizable minority of a group called the New Apostolic Church.

For more information on how you can donate to the APMA flood appeal, please send me an e-mail at: jawadmazhar123@yahoo.com

Jawad Mazhar is a Pakistani journalist specializing in writing about Christian persecution. He was born on November 28, 1976 at Sargodha's village Chak and raised in Sargodha, a city in Pakistan’s Punjab province. He earned his Bachelors Degree from Allama Iqbal Open University majoring in computer sciences and has taught at various educational institutes in his country. He is also involved with “Rays of Development,” an organization working for minority rights in Pakistan. He says, “My aim is to help eradicate Christian persecution through my writing as I bring the plight of these brave people under the spotlight of the whole world.”