WASHINGTON: The IMF said Thursday it was "exploring all options" to help flood-battered Pakistan as the country sought to ease terms of a nearly 11-billion-dollar loan.

SINGAPORE: Oil prices dipped below 73 dollars in Asian trade Friday as concerns over weak US economic data pervaded crude markets, analysts said.

New York's main contract, light sweet crude for October delivery, fell 37 cents to 72.99 dollars per barrel.

Brent North Sea crude for delivery in October shed 33 cents to 74.69 dollars.

Crude prices reversed gains made late Thursday as weak data from the US Federal Reserve of Kansas City released Thursday showing manufacturing activity slowing in the region weighed down markets, analysts said.

"The Federal Reserve of Kansas City said manufacturing in their region has slowed," said Ben Westmore, minerals and energy economist for the National Australia Bank in Melbourne.

The bank stated in its monthly report that "the net percentage of firms reporting month-over-month increases in production in August was zero, down from 14 in July."

"Tenth District manufacturing activity slowed in August, and producers were somewhat less optimistic than in previous months," the report added.

This, coupled with "pretty weak" US crude stockpile data released by the US Department of Energy (DoE) Thursday, overpowered a sharper-than-expected drop in jobless benefit claims for the past week, he stated.

The US DoE said crude inventories soared 4.1 million barrels last week, much more than the 200,000 drop analysts had expected, while gasoline stockpiles rose 2.3 million barrels, against forecasts for a 500,000-barrel decline.

Labor Department data showed Thursday a drop in jobless benefit claims to 473,000 for the week to August 21 from the previous week's 504,000, better than most economists' expectations of 485,000.

KARACHI: Pakistani stocks ended almost flat on Friday as cautious investors stayed on the sidelines awaiting a clear picture on the economic costs of floods and on talks between the International Monetary Fund and Pakistan.

The Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) benchmark 100-share index ended 0.10 percent, or 9.34 points, higher at 9,598.71 on turnover of 35.4 million shares.

"With no constructive details on the talks between IMF and Pakistan and clarity on the loss to GDP caused by the floods, investors preferred to stay out of the market ahead of the weekend," said Asad Iqbal, chief investment officer at Faysal Asset Management Ltd.

Pakistan's finance minister and central bank governor joined IMF talks in Washington that are focused on salvaging the economy.

The finance minister said his country wanted to keep pursuing an $11 billion IMF loan programme. However, no details were given about what targets were going to be reviewed.

The floods could knock down Pakistan's economic growth for fiscal 2010/11 to between zero and 2 percent, Pakistani officials said on Monday, fuelling concern about the country's stability.

The Asian Development Bank, assessing flood damage and Pakistan's needs along with the World Bank, said last week economic growth could be 3 percent.

The KSE-index has lost 8.02 percent since the floods began.

In the currency market, the rupee ended flat at 85.60/65 to the dollar, unchanged from Thursday's close.

Dealers said the rupee would be range-bound in the short-term but expected pressure in the medium-term.

The rupee fell to a record low of 85.80 on July 12 amid high demand for dollars from importers as well as on debt repayments.

In the money market, overnight rates fell to between 12 percent and 12.20 percent compared with Thursday's close of 12.90 percent after the State Bank of Pakistan injected 14.65 billion rupees.

KARACHI: Pakistan's foreign exchange reserves fell to $16.11 billion in the week ending on Aug. 20, from $16.29 billion the previous week ago, the central bank said on Thursday.

Reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) fell to $12.35 billion from $12.46 billion a week earlier, while those held by commercial banks also fell to $3.76 billion from $3.83 billion, said Syed Wasimuddin, the SBP's chief spokesman.

"There were some debt payments as well last week," said Wasimuddin.

Pakistan's forex reserves rose to a record high of $16.77 billion in the week ending on July 2 thanks to foreign inflows worth $750 million received that week.

The previous record high was $16.45 billion in October 2007.

KARACHI: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) was mulling to impose a five percent surcharge to cope with the damages incurred by floods, FBR spokesman Israr Rauf told Geo News.

Rs 138 billion were expected to be generated via this duty.

THATTA: Officials in flood-ravaged Pakistan ordered nearly half a million people to evacuate towns Thursday as the United Nations vowed to forge ahead with relief operations despite threats against foreign aid workers.

Torrential monsoon rains triggered massive floods affecting a fifth of the volatile country -- an area roughly the size of England -- where US officials have reported threats by the Taliban.

But UN humanitarian chief John Holmes pledged relief operations would continue.

"We will not be deterred from doing what we believe we need to do, which is to help the people of Pakistan," he told a news conference at the world body's headquarters in New York.

"Those threats existed before the floods and we've always known that the security issues are there," he said.

As the crisis deepened, villagers in the south fled from where the Indus delta merges with the Arabian Sea, trailing north in vans laden with furniture, crowded into buses, or in carts pulled by oxen. Some people were on foot, leading their livestock.

Water lined the road from Hyderabad to Thatta town, as workers frantically used bulldozers to dig embankments only just higher than the flooding, and where people camped out under open skies or in makeshift tents.

The catastrophe has already affected more than 17 million people and left eight million dependent on aid to survive.

Officials have confirmed that 1,600 people have been killed and 2,366 wounded, but officials warn that millions are at risk from diseases and food shortages.

In the southern province of Sindh, where the floods have washed away huge swathes of the rich farmland on which Pakistan's struggling economy depends, a senior administration official warned that fresh floods threaten the towns of Sujawal, Mirpur Bathoro and Daro.

Hadi Bakhsh Kalhoro told media that 400,000 had been warned of the danger posed by rising waters.

Administrator of Thatta district Manzoor Sheikh told media that 100,000 people were on the move to safer ground on Thursday.

"My estimate is that there were some 100,000 people moving just today towards safer places, and the movement of people was still continuing," Sheikh said.

WASHINGTON: The United States said Thursday it has brought the total of US flood relief for Pakistan to 200 million dollars after diverting 50 million dollars from its long-term aid package to the country.

Before returning home Thursday from a visit to Pakistan, US Agency for International Development administrator Rajiv Shah revealed Washington will release the extra funds, State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said.

The funds will be used to provide relief after the flood waters recede, Crowley told reporters.

"This 50 million dollar latest block is money that will be redirected from other priorities under Kerry-Lugar-Berman," the five-year package of 7.5 billion dollars in development aid adopted by Congress last September, he said.

He quoted Shah as saying the US government "will be reevaluating our projects, some of which are literally under water."

"Additionally, agricultural and economic infrastructure that has already been part of our (long-term aid) plan will become ever more important in the coming days and weeks," Crowley said.

"But this brings ... the United States' support for Pakistan up to 200 million dollars in a combination of relief and recovery efforts," he said.

Earlier this month, analysts predicted President Barack Obama's administration would redirect some of its long-term aid.

Ashley Tellis, an analyst with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said the change is understandable given the scale of the disaster, "but it means that the aid program will continue to be a victim of a lack of focus."

Tellis said US officials had in recent months already modified the goal of the aid package from the original one of boosting democratic institutions to that of building infrastructure.

Infrastructure was seen as giving quicker, more visible benefits to the Pakistani people.

QUSOOR: Water level in River Sutlej has further rose to 18-feet high as flow of water at Ganda Singh Wala bordering Qusoor District, is seen in high flood while standing crops stretched on hundreds of acres farmland and several villages have been washed away as a result, Geo News reported.

According to Flood Warning Center (FWC) that people stranded at various place have been rescued to safer places.

The water level in River Sutlej has been anticipated to rise further as India has opened 10 gates of Indian Ferozpur Headworks, which might inundate areas like Kanganpur, Pak Patan and Bahawalnagar, FWC feared.

SAEEDABAD: Hakim Machhi has been camped out on a river bank for three days, waiting in vain for Pakistani aid workers to pluck him to safety after stinking flood waters swallowed up his home.

About 50 families lived in the remote village of Alan Suhebjo, 30 kilometres (19 miles) north of Hyderabad in southern Sindh province, but their homes have disappeared under water in Pakistan's worst humanitarian disaster.

Around 10 kilometres from the nearest town of Saeedabad, the village is largely isolated from the state-sponsored and mainstream independent relief operations straining to cope with a crisis that has hit 17 million.

Instead villagers fell back on their resourcefulness, decamping to a nearby embankment and collection of mud huts already abandoned by their occupants too frightened by rising waters.

Children swam through the putrid flood. Wives and daughters busied themselves with what household chores they could do. Men took it in turns to keep watch over the rising waters and trudged into Saeedabad for help.

"We're finishing our food reserves and our children are getting sick with no medical help forthcoming," said Machhi, shirtless and with his skin burnt by the sun.

"We are trying to get transport to go to a relief camp but no one's here to help us," the 35-year-old said.

Mohammad Sohrab, 50, a grey-haired peasant cradling a newborn baby in his lap, blamed the government led by President Asif Ali Zardari.

"Our rulers come here to seek votes whenever they fight elections but in this time of distress no one's here to take care of us. We're dying and the government is doing nothing to save our children," Sohrab said.

The United Nations warned that 800,000 people in desperate need of aid had been cut off by the deluge across the country and appealed for more helicopters to deliver supplies to those people reachable only by air.

LAHORE: The trust deficit between the Centre and the Punjab government seemed to be widening when PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif expressed reservations over the procedure of distribution of aid by the federal government.

PML-N leader feared that the federal government may bypass provincial governments in disbursement of Rs 20000 of aid per person.

He was addressing a meeting held to review flood situation at CM Punjab House. He suggested to the Punjab government to collect as more funds as possible.

CM Punjab Shahbaz Sharif told the meeting that arrangements have been made for the vaccination of all animals.

DADU: Raging floodwaters from Hamal Lake may enter Dadu district anytime today, Geo News reported Friday.

DCO Iqbal Memon told Geo News that people of 391 villages of 18 union councils of Mehar, Khairpur Nathan Shah and Juhi, districts of Dadu, have been directed to leave.

The capacity of MNV Drain was of 3500 cusecs while the maximum water it can pass was 5000 cusecs.

The rise in water level in Hamal Lake was also recorded while the maximum capacity of the lake was 80000 acre-feet.

The evacuation of Thatta was ordered after the swollen Indus River broke its banks, nearly a month after devastating floods first struck, an official said on Friday.

Floodwaters are beginning to recede across most of the country as the water flows down the Indus, but because of high tides in the Arabian Sea, they still pose a threat to towns such as Thatta, 70 km (45 miles) east of Karachi, in the river delta.

"There was another breach last night which is very close to Thatta and the evacuation has been ordered for the whole city," Riaz Ahmed Soomro, Sindh Relief Commissioner said.

Many people from outlying areas had taken refuge in Thatta, which normally has a population of about 300,000, and now had to move again, he said. There is no threat to the southern business hub of Karachi.

"They've now had double displacement. People are moving to Karachi, Hyderabad and Badin districts," Soomro said.

LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League-N Chief Nawaz Sharif Friday demanded of the Federal Government to give at least Rs100,000 each to the families affected by the devastating floods across the country.

Talking to reporters after meeting of PML-N here, Nawaz Sharif said the entire world would have rushed to offer help, had the Prime Minister accepted the former’s proposal of dealing together with the challenges of the flood.

Nawaz Sharif also called for setting up a judicial commission to probe into the breaking of embankments and dykes.

He said: “The ministers of Altaf Hussain keep on issuing statements against inflation while at the same time they continue to be part of the cabinet.” Who are they trying to fool, he asked.

Nawaz Sharif went on to say that ‘in case there is Martial Law, they will be ministers in that set up too.’

He said failure of the government should not be interpreted as a failure of democracy and warned against inviting Martial Law.

On the occasion, Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif said he has written a letter to the Prime Minister, asking him to convene a meeting of Council of Common Interests with a view to taking the provinces in confidence over distribution of the international aid.

He announced that Rs20,000 each will be given to the flood-hit families before Eid-ul-Fitr and asked the Federal Government to contribute its share in it.

Nawaz Sharif asserted: “Those terming our sincere efforts and visits to flood-affected areas as meant for a photo shoot, should also come forward to take part in this virtuous deed.

ISLAMABAD: The death toll from Pakistan's floods, which have officially claimed 1,600 lives, will rise as waters recede and the number of missing are counted, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said Friday.

The country's worst ever-natural disaster has affected more than 17 million Pakistanis, with more than eight million dependent on aid as rescue operations continue to evacuate swathes of the south still under threat.

Since the floods began a month ago, triggered by monsoon rains, the death toll has risen little from an early estimate of 1,500 people, but that is likely to change "significantly" once the seasonal rains end, said a spokeswoman for the NDMA.

"There will be a rise... a significant rise because we will be in a position to find more bodies after these water levels recede," Amal Masud said.

"There will be quite a number of missing people but it will not be as alarming as if we compare it with the 2005 earthquake," which killed 73,000, she said.

Of the 1,600 confirmed dead, 1,086 people were killed in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, 183 in northern Gilgit-Baltistan district, 109 in southern Sindh, 103 in central Punjab, 71 in Azad Jammu Kashmir and 48 in Baluchistan.

Flooding has also engulfed 20 percent of the land, including huge areas of rich farming pastures on which Pakistan's struggling economy depends.

Maurizio Giuliano, spokesman for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said the number who died as a direct result of the floods was relatively limited because most people were evacuated or managed to escape.

"But that does not mean that the death toll over the longer-term would not be a concern because many more people risk dying in a second-wave of death," he said, referring to the threat posed by water-borne diseases.

"The most vulnerable are certainly already dying because of the floods and we don't have estimates on that. I think it will take some time before we have consolidated figures on mortality."

 LAHORE: Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif Friday said floods wreaked havoc on 850,000 acres land in Punjab.

Briefing a meeting of Pakistan Muslim League-N held here at Chief Minister House, Shahbaz Sharif said the government is in the process of chalking out a plan to compensate the damage caused by the unprecedented floods in the country.

He said arrangements have been put place for vaccination of livestock in the flood-stricken areas. However, he said that floods caused irreparable loss to cotton, sugarcane and other ripe crops while the land ready for next season’s crops also became useless for the time being.

MANSEHRA: An alleged terrorist was killed when he was planting a time bomb in a hotel in Bafa area of District Mansehra, Geo News reported Friday.

According to DPO Mansehra Sohail Khalid, the alleged terrorist was planting a bomb in a room in an upper floor of Ahmed Khan hotel in Bafa. Two kilograms of explosives were packed in the time bomb which went off, he added.

He said the aim of the terrorist activity was to target the people who were to gather in this room in the evening.

ISLAMABAD: National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Friday put the death toll from the countrywide rains and deluge at 1600 and the total number of affectees at 17 million.

Spokesman of NDMA said that rains and floods killed 1068 people in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa; 183 in Gilgit-Baltistan; 109 in southern areas of Sindh; 103 in Punjab; 71 in Kashmir and; 48 people in Balochistan.

He said the toll is feared to mount further as the water level recedes in flooded areas.

The NDMA spokesman said 8 million people are in need of food on emergency basis.

GILGIT: The ground links between Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan and various areas in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa continue to remain disconnected for the past one month.

The supplying of medicines and relief items to Madin, Behreen and Kalam was carried on with the help of helicopters due to the clear climate. However, link roads and power supply could not be restored even after the passage of one whole month.

Water is still standing in different areas of Nowshehra and Charsadda which are proving to be breeding grounds for many diseases.

Meanwhile, shortage of food and petroleum products has adopted a shape of crises in Gilgit-Baltistan where edibles are being sold at rates 200 percent higher than actual prices.

THATTA: Hundreds of thousands of residents of Dadu and Thatta are moving out to safer places in fear of imminent floods on self-help basis while citizens are also taking part voluntarily in the effort to strengthen an under-construction protective dyke in Shahdadkot to save their city.

The flood stream coming from Shahdadkot, after wreaking havoc in several villages, is expected to enter Hamal Lake and MNV drain anytime now.

Thousands of families from 391 villages located in Tehsil KN Shah, Mehar and Juhi are relocating to safer places.

The unmerciful tides of flood let loose as a result of breach in protective bund at Sheedi Mori and Ruso Brohi is heading rapidly towards Thatta district. The authorities have failed to plug this breach even after passage of 24 hours.

Meanwhile, Tehsil Sajjawal, Mirpur Bhatoro, Daro and Banun besides hundreds of villages in the surrounding areas have already been evacuated.

According to Sindh Irrigation Departement, Daro city is feared to face inundation anytime.

The affectees who arrived in Makli from Thatta staged a sit-in on National Highway against non-availability of essential relief goods, suspending the traffic.

In the meantime, five trucks full of relief items being escorted by Provincial Home Minister Dr. Zulfiqar Mirza which were heading toward Makli were intercepted and looted by the flood affectees.