ISAS Working Papers

This paper uses the summer floods of 2010 as a lens to examine Pakistan's worsening econ omic, security and governance issues since the February 2008 elections. It initially explains the background to the inundations which displaced 20 million people, caused massive damage to infrastructure and threatened to suppress an already sluggish econom ic rebound from the world recession. The politicisation of the circumstances surrounding flooding is discussed along wi th its historical significance. The paper then reveal s how the natural disaster exacerbated the multi - faceted challenges facing the Pakis tan Peoples Party (PPP) - led coalition. It also discusses the political impact of President Asif Ali Zardari's absence from the country at the time of the national calamity. The paper also lays bare the fact that the Government had inherited a declining eco nomic and security s ituation from the Musharraf era and then that structural economic and governance problems can be traced back to much further in Pakistan's history.