ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday called for timely decisions and actions, warning that climate disasters could also affect other countries like Pakistan with even no contribution to the emissions.
Addressing a seminar on climate change, the prime minister urged the international community to stand for the future and work hard as the calamities like flash floods in Pakistan could result in damage to other countries as well.
He lamented that despite having no fault, Pakistan was among the ten countries facing the impacts of climate change. “We need to stand for our future. We need to work hard. Let us accept the challenge, work out a plan, and not waste time to save generations,” the prime minister expressed.
He said it had been a year since the most devastating floods in history put one-third of Pakistan under water and caused irreparable damage and large-scale destruction of infrastructure, including millions of acres of standing crops and houses.
The premier said it was the worst flood he had seen in his entire life as Sindh looked like the River Indus flowing all around, adding that despite the government having spent billions of rupees, the challenge was not yet over.
Shehbaz Sharif thanked the friendly countries and donors for timely rescue and questioned what would be the consequences if the country was hit again by a similar kind of disaster.
Pakistan Seeks International Support
The prime minister urged the international community to ponder over the situation and suggest solutions as the countries like Pakistan could not afford the debt burden adding that Pakistan was still dealing with the IMF program with a huge gap between its exports and imports.
“If we have such a terrible natural accident, we require extra funds to deal with the situation. This needs the answer. Come forward with the solid recommendation for implementation in letter and spirit,” he expressed.
Meanwhile, the prime minister wrote on a social media platform about the issue, saying that the floods had inflicted an overall loss of $30 billion on Pakistan’s economy.
Shehbaz Sharif said Pakistan suffered from the unprecedented floods, which was a sign of warning for other countries of impending disasters induced by climate change.
He urged for prompt global action and a show of solidarity to help the country’s most vulnerable to climate change impacts.
The Premier said that the federal cabinet recently approved a landmark National Adaptation Plan 2023, which would ensure to equip the country’s infrastructure and communities to tackle such challenges in a better way in the future.
