Zardari will return to a nation ready to vent anger

The floods

Critics of Pakistan's president intensified their attacks yesterday as his most high-profile appearance in Britain coincided with warnings that his country's unprecedented floods are set to worsen as fresh downpours inundate disaster areas.

As authorities increased their estimate of the number of people affected to 12 million, opponents warned that Asif Ali Zardari would be met by a wave of resentment on his return. He was accused of abandoning the suffering of the country to fly to Europe while rescuers struggled to cope with a disaster that has left 1,600 dead. Mr Zardari, meanwhile, has been seen meeting France's President Nicolas Sarkozy, flying to his family's chateau in Normandy, and meeting David Cameron at Chequers.

The disaster has overwhelmed rescue efforts, even as foreign aid has arrived, and has capped a grim week for the country. Scores were slain in targeted killings in Karachi and doubts have deepened about Mr Zardari's leadership.

Aggrieved national pride was not likely to be salved by the two leaders' joint appearance yesterday. Mr Zardari opted to emphasise longstanding ties between Britain and Pakistan and play down the controversy over Mr Cameron's accusations that Pakistan is "looking both ways" when it comes to the export of terrorism. "It's a friendship which will never break, no matter what happens," Mr Zardari said, echoing Mr Cameron's remarks as he stood beside him.

However, his comments that "storms will come and storms will go" are being attributed to an insensitive decision to understate the scale of the tragedy that is engulfing Pakistan.

"When he returns to Pakistan, there's going to be a river of resentment brimming over, just as high as his brimming smile," said Ayesha Tammy Haq, a columnist and talk show host.

"Asif Zardari is his own worst enemy," said Khwaja Asif, a leading opposition parliamentarian. "Whatever he's done in Europe is in poor taste. He should have [considered] the sensitivities of the people of Pakistan."

During Mr Zardari's absence, not only has the flood spread southwards – people have been evacuating the southern Sindh province for several days and further rains are expected there – but violence in Karachi, Pakistan's largest city and commercial hub, is the worst for a decade.

An unrelenting series of revenge killings continues days after they were sparked by the assassination of a Shia member of the provincial legislature. The government believes that the Sipah-e-Sahaba, an outlawed militant outfit notorious for its virulent sectarianism, was behind the murder. The Sipah-e-Sahaba has been working closely with the Pakistani Taliban in recent years.

Five more people were gunned down in Karachi yesterday, bringing the death toll to 81. Factories and markets had only just reopened after a four-day shutdown that resulted in an estimated loss of $234m (£147m), analysts said.

The Prime Minister, Yousaf Raza Gilani, flew to Karachi yesterday in an attempt to ease tensions among rival ethnic and political factions. Members of the ruling Pakistan People's Party, the majority-immigrant MQM, and the majority-Pashtun Awami National Party have died. All three parties happen to be coalition partners in the national government.