Prime Minister of Pakistan Shehbaz Sharif’s on Monday addressed the international conference ‘Resilient Pakistan’ on the topic of participation in the reconstruction and rehabilitation of Pakistan.
The Prime Minister said that it would be an honour for me to host and address this conference. After the flood, the Secretary General of the United Nations visited the flood-affected areas, including Sindh and Balochistan and personally assessed the widespread destruction. The flood-affected people of Pakistan should always remember their role and services in difficult times.
Prime Minister of Pakistan, Shehbaz Sharif, noted that, “There was a large-scale disaster in Pakistan because of the floods, 33 million people were severely affected while 1700 people, including children, died in flood, several lakh houses, as well as thousands of kilometres of roads, were washed away in flood channels, 2.6 lakh children including 10 lakh girl were killed. The education system was interrupted.”
Meanwhile, PM Sharif extends thanks to United Nations, World Bank, Asian Development Bank, the Middle East, the Far East and European nations who have helped Pakistan during this difficult time.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that, “Pakistan has yet to come out of the flood disaster and the relief work is going on in the affected areas, the flood water is still standing in many areas of Balochistan and Sindh. There is a need for rehabilitation and reconstruction.”
He said that, “agriculture has also been severely affected due to standing water and crops cannot be cultivated, we have to put the affected families on their feet and enable them to earn their jobs.”
The prime minister said that, “the damage caused by the floods has been estimated at 30 billion dollars, which is 8 per cent of Pakistan’s GDP, and 9 million people have been plunged into the mire of poverty. The government of Pakistan used all resources for the immediate assistance and rehabilitation of the victims, 20 thousand troops, hundreds of helicopters and boats participated in the rescue operation and transferred the people trapped in the affected areas to safe places. A cash grant of $400 million is being given to 2.7 million families.”
PM Sharif further thanked all the participants of the conference.
The Prime Minister said that, “today we are standing at an important turning point in history, Pakistan is facing very difficult challenges due to the destruction caused by floods, the lives of the flood victims have changed, the government has taken measures for their recovery, rehabilitation and reconstruction. A comprehensive plan has been created, we need the help of the international community in this regard, due to the disaster caused by the flood, the pace of economic development of Pakistan has also been badly affected, Pakistan alone cannot deal with the effects of this disaster. He expressed the hope that the international community will fully support Pakistan in this difficult situation.”