LAHORE:Former governor Punjab Chaudhry Mohammad Sarwar has said the United Nations announcement of $160 million emergency plan for flood relief in Pakistan was not sufficient to address the devastation and the world body should raise the emergency aid to $10 billion.
Talking to reporter by phone from Glasgow, Scotland, on Sunday, he said millions of people had been displaced while more than 1,250 people died besides unprecedented loss of livestock, crops and houses.
The former governor, who is also chairman of Sarwar Foundation, is visiting the United kingdom (UK) to raise funds for the flood relief and rehabilitation.
Ch Sarwar said he would also appeal to the G20 countries to give debt relief to Pakistan, adding that the international financial institutions should also facilitate the country in loan repayments.
He said the country had to make almost 2 million pounds debt repayments and the unprecedented crisis situation demanded extraordinary support from the world community in these testing times.
He said the Sarwar Foundation had been extending all possible support in the flood-hit areas of the country, adding that a medical team had also reached south Punjab to provide medical help. He said cholera and malaria vaccination was also being carried out.
He said he, on his return from the UK, would chair a meeting of the Punjab Development Network (PDN) – a consortium of NGOs – and further raise funds to help the brothers and sisters in the catastrophe-hit areas of Pakistan.
He said the PDN would work in coordination with the federal and provincial governments to provide relief to the needy, adding that the armed forces had been providing technical support to Sarwar Foundation to reach the flood-hit areas.