Friday, August 26, 2022
Islamabad (Urdu Point Newspaper Latest - NNI. August 26, 2022) Prime Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif has said that about 33 million people have been affected by the recent floods and rains in the country so far. Provision of food, medicine and tents is a huge challenge, initial estimates of damage to homes, property and infrastructure are in the billions, thanks to the support from international financial institutions and organizations.
He expressed these views while discussing the flood situation in the country with the ambassadors of different countries residing in Islamabad here on Friday. The Prime Minister said that there was a record rainfall in Pakistan in the last 30 years, since June 13, more than 900 people have died in the flood lanes, more than 1300 people have been injured and about 8 lakh cattle have been affected by the flood, houses, property and infrastructure. The initial estimate of the damage has been estimated at billions of rupees, the total number of victims of the flood so far is 3 crore 30 lakh.
He said that Pakistan is on the eighth position in the list of countries affected by climate change, while Pakistan's share in carbon emissions is less than one percent. He said that the government is using all its resources for the immediate rescue of the flood victims, 25,000 per family is being provided to the victims under the immediate flood relief cash program, food items and tents are being provided to the victims. As much as possible efforts are being made to supply food, medicines and tents to such a large number of victims, it is a big challenge.
The Prime Minister said that the destruction of infrastructure is a major obstacle in delivering aid to the victims, despite its economic difficulties, Pakistan is ensuring aid to the flood victims on a priority basis, and is grateful for the support from international financial institutions and organizations. He said that in this natural calamity countries around the world should move forward to help the flood affected people.
He said that friendly countries and the international community have been requested to play their role in providing tents, mosquito nets, food items, and medicines to the victims. Ambassadors of Australia, China, Japan, Kuwait, South Korea, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, America, Germany, Bahrain, European Union, France, Oman, Qatar, United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia were present in the meeting.
In the meeting, the participants were briefed about the damage caused by the recent rains and floods by NDMA and the government's rescue and relief operations.In the meeting, a detailed briefing was also given by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Ministry of Finance regarding the immediate rescue and relief measures of the government and the donors' conference on the previous day. The meeting was also shown videos of flood affected areas and victims by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. The participants of the meeting appreciated the government's rescue and relief measures for the flood victims and the ambassadors of various countries informed the Prime Minister about starting relief operations in the flood affected areas.
