Thousands of flood victims in the Punjab province of Pakistan are living in camps. It is more than a month since the waters drove them from their homes.

The International Monetary Fund has just announced a 350 million euros emergency aid package.

It is a distant hope for many in the Lakhi Tibba camp who are sharply critical of their government and its inability to provide for them. They have become dependant on religious institutions as one victim, Mohammed Yousuf explained.

“The government is providing nothing for us but the madrassa school is bringing food at night, whenever they can. It is mostly only rice. Because we just eat rice we are getting ill, but there is no doctor, no medicine for us,” he said.

Its reckoned around 900,000 Pakistanis have sought shelter in Sindh province in camps. The IMF funding is to be distributed during this month and comes after a week of negotiations with Islamabad agreeing tax and energy reforms.

And if work is to progress on desperately needed reconstruction in the country then the IMF believes the reforms are vital to keep the Pakistani economy on track and provide the stability to deal with militancy inside its own borders.

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