“I’ve never seen a disaster on such a scale, it’s hard for me to put it into words…. It is overwhelming,” said Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari
The Pakistan needs financial help to deal with sweeping floods, announced today Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the countryadding that he hopes financial institutions, such as the International Monetary Fund, will take into account the consequences of this disaster.
Unusually heavy rains during the monsoon season caused devastating floods in the north and south of the country, affecting more than 30 million people. The dead exceed 1,000.
“I’ve never seen a disaster on such a scale, it’s hard for me to put it into words…. It’s overwhelming” Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said in an interview with Reuters. As he explained, many crops from which a large part of the population derived their livelihood have disappeared. “Obviously, this will have consequences for the economic situation in general,” he said.
Pakistan is already in economic crisis, with high inflation, currency devaluation and current account deficit. The IMF is expected to decide this week whether to release $1.2 billion in the seventh and eighth tranches of the country’s bailout program, which began in 2019. Bhutto Zardari said the release would be approved given the agreement between the Pakistani government and IMF officials and hoped that in the coming months the Fund would recognize the impact of the floods.
The minister, who is the son of slain former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, said damage had not yet been assessed, but some estimates put it at $4 billion. He estimates that the amount will be much higher. Within the week, Pakistan will appeal to UN member states to contribute to relief efforts, he added, while at the same time the country must consider how to deal with the long-term effects of climate change.
RES-EMP
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