ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Sept. 11 (UPI) -- Pakistan's president and prime minister addressed the travails of flood victims in their respective addresses marking the end of Ramadan.
President Asif Ali Zardari said the summer flooding that has driven millions of Pakistanis from their homes put a damper on the annual Eid al-Fitr festival.
"We cannot celebrate the day with traditional fanfare and festivities when millions of our countrymen have been rendered shelter-less as villages, towns and cities have been destroyed by the floods," Zardari said, adding, "We bow our heads in gratitude to Allah on this day for blessing us with the bounties of the holy month of Ramadan."
Pakistan's Dawn News said Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani voiced similar sentiments and planned to observe Eid by visiting refugee camps around the nation.
Dawn said floods continued to pose a threat in Sindh province where some 2.8 million people were already homeless.
