ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Climate Change Sherry Rehman said more than 33 million people have been affected due to recent floods in the country, adding around 20.8 million of them are in dire need of basic amenities of life.
She told the National Assembly on Monday as the house formally started debate on the post-flood situation in Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh.
Sherry Rehman said some 16,000 kilometers road infrastructure had been perished while several bridges were washed away. Around 1,700 had people lost their lives and more than 13,000 got injured during the recent floods, she informed the National Assembly. The Minister said over 650,000 pregnant women were facing unsanitary conditions while living in tents.
She said the government was making its best efforts to provide relief in the tragic moment, while the United Nations (UN) had also made appeals to the world to assist Pakistan. A total of Rs. 70 billion had been disbursed under the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), she added.
Sherry Rehman said water-borne diseases were spreading in the relief camps while hospitals, clinics, mosques and schools were still inundated in the flood hit areas of Sindh. She asked the world to assist Pakistan, which had a meager contribution (less than one percent) to the overall pollution. Pakistan in fact suffered due to global warming and the pollution created by the rich countries, and it was its right to be assisted by the latter, Sherry Rehman maintained. Later, Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf deferred the debate till Wednesday with the consent of the House. APP
