These are no times for politics and hopefully politicians aren doing any either. But regardless of their intent, whatever they are doing for the relief of flood victims, (and whatever they aren ) can have an everlasting impact on Pakistans political landscape.
One can argue that since only a handful of political parties in Pakistan actively engage in welfare activities throughout the year, voters don tend to weigh politicians on account of their relief efforts. Some may also say that Pakistans chequered history has never seen a major shift in its political makeup due to a natural disaster.
But they should be reminded that the break-up of Pakistan in 1971 was preceded by one of the worst cyclone in the history of the country, which significantly contributed to the peoples discontent and disaffection.
Moreover, no disaster in Pakistan since then has ever been as catastrophic as these floods, at a time when the media and the public at large, shoved into a boiling pot of economic upheaval, have been calling for a grassroots-level change.
A major factor that distinguishes this disaster from the one in 2005 is its widespread nature. Unlike the earthquake, which was confined to a politically less-important block of the northern areas, the floods of 2010 have played havoc with lives in provinces where votes do matter, no matter how easy they come.
Perhaps moved by these concerns, a few political parties have been trying to make their presence felt at the flood scenes with a view to cash in on the opportunity thrown up by this disaster. Whether they will succeed isn sure yet, but this is how things may turn out.
The region likely to face the biggest shift in its political landscape is Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, both because of the magnitude of devastation and the comparatively higher state of political awareness in the province. The fact that the KP was a stronghold of religious parties not so long ago and was won back by the liberal left groups more recently, shows that people in that province react to performance.
The welfare wings of the religious parties working in KP may not have an underlying political motive, but they will surely benefit from it when the time comes, which could be soon given Pakistans history with government continuity. The ruling coalition could be the biggest loser in KP, as their party workers hardly have any presence in the flood-relief activities of the region.
In Punjab, however, the story might be a bit different. The southern belt of the province has often been known as a region where people are submissive when it comes to political decision-making, primarily because of their economic conditions, feudalism and the religious system of Piri-Muridi.
None of these factors are expected to change in the near future, but what is interesting is a vacuum in the political space of south Punjab, which will need to be filled. Who will take that spot? Well, it is difficult to assume that it would be the ruling party in the centre (PPP) or its allies. It could be the ruling party in the Punjab (PML-N), but mind you, it has been losing grip of the area ever-since the demand of a separate Seraiki province.
The flood has displaced a lot of people and relief agencies fear that many would not be returning back. So a different landscape would lead to different results this time around - it is a place up for grabs, which the right wing parties must be eying.
The case of Sindh and Balochistan may be slightly different. Both provinces are likely to adhere to their strong nationalist views as the slavish nature of their voters, no thanks to strong chains of the feudal and Sardari system respectively, might not result in a significant shift in the political makeup of the two regions.
If Pakistani voters really want change, this flood could act as a painful trigger. Once the water flows and the mud settles, the game of grabbing lands and pacifying voters might begin, and that should be the time when the media awakens the affected from their political slumber. One way to do that is focus on a more research-based approach to Pakistan Floods 2010.
In the post-flood scenario, land-grabbing will be an issue. Though its impact will be minimal for Punjab in particular, things could turn sour in the kacha area along the river banks in Sindh, where huge swathes of land were reportedly acquired illegally.
And for those looking for new leaders, do keep an eye on what political parties and emerging national heroes are doing towards the flood-relief efforts, as a lot may change in the years to come. A sum of Rs45 million collected in two weeks in the Prime Ministers Relief Fund versus a little over Rs60 million collected in just over four hours is enough of a hint.
Then again, Pakistani politics is much like cricket - anything can happen.