A senior US official who visited Pakistan’s flood-affected districts earlier this month said that the entire world has to stand up and support Pakistan at this time.
A counsellor with the US State Department, Derek Chollet, told local media that the situation was just devastation that was hard to get your mind around.
He said that the flood and the resulting eviction of millions of people had put Pakistan in immediate danger.
Chollet said that the US has already given Pakistan assistance worth approximately $55 million and dispatched military planes loaded with supplies.
In order to aid Pakistan at this crucial time, the world must remain focused on this issue, he added.
According to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, “Pakistan is drowning, not only in floodwater but in debt too.”
Guterres, during the UNGA session, reiterated the plea he originally made during his recent trip to Pakistan, during which he encouraged lenders to take debt reduction into consideration in order to assist those countries that could be about to experience an economic meltdown.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) laments that less than one-third of its $39 million financial plea for Pakistan’s flood-affected children has already been met and that the children’s needs would only continue to increase.
In a related event, the Asian Development Bank declared on Tuesday that it will offer Pakistan a sizable package of assistance for relief and reconstruction in the wake of the country’s disastrous floods.
Meanwhile, Pakistan and France agreed to work together to explore methods and means to support efforts to address the challenge presented by the floods.
Paris offered to organize an international conference before the end of the year to promote Islamabad’s rebuilding in a climate-resilient manner.
