ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari Thursday said the international community needed to work together to overcome challenges caused by the COVID pandemic, difficult economic conditions, climate catastrophe and heightened geopolitical tensions.
Speaking at an Iftar dinner hosted for diplomatic corp in Islamabad, Bilawal said Pakistani people were facing incredibly difficult economic times due to the wrong decisions taken by the previous government, and also because of the world situation and climate catastrophe. He said people who were bearing the burnt of climate change didn’t necessarily play a role in causing environmental pollution.
The world community was still suffering from the economic effects of the COVID pandemic, he continued. He was of the view that fasting was meant to realise the predicament of the less-privileged and poor people and it should be the collective responsibility of all to help put minimum burden on the low-income people in society.
He appreciated the efforts undertaken by Benazir Income Support Programme led by Minister Shazia Marri for protecting vulnerable sections of the society.
BISP the first social safety net in Pakistan: FM
He added that BISP was the first social safety net in Pakistan providing support to the poorest of the poor adding, “We have seen time and again how the BISP programme has served”.
He said the government had the huge task of reconstruction and rehabilitation of people affected by the floods. It was making consistent efforts to extend assistance to the least fortunate at the bottom of the social pyramid, he remarked.
Bilawal said Pakistan was extremely grateful for the support received from the international community for meeting economic as well as other challenges.
“Our friends across the globe stood with us during the pandemic by providing vaccines and other support, and then again during floods and difficult economic conditions,” he concluded. — APP
