ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Climate Change Senator Sherry Rehman on Friday said “there are resources for the developed nations to go on wars but not for saving human lives as their response is slow in the case of Pakistan and other natural calamity-stricken nations.”
The federal minister said this while briefing the media on the findings of the PDNA Report, launched earlier at the Planning Ministry, which was a finalised and important document based on the joint surveys conducted by the federal government with the provinces.
Meanwhile, Post Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) report underscored trillions of rupees cumulative damages, losses and requirements to ensure rehabilitation of the 33 million flood affected people.
Senator Rehman said, “the federal government will also launch the rehabilitation plan in 4-5 days that will cover the key aspects of revival efforts to ensure sustainable relocation of the affected communities.”
The minister added that some 90 districts remained calamity-hit and it was revealed after the joint survey results which were partnered by World Bank, other donor agencies and development partners.
The provinces also gave their input and recommendations in the PDNA, she added.
She said the fact sheet clearly stated that one out of seven Pakistanis were affected due to the recent monster floods whereas four million children were out of health services.
“We are going to enter the recovery and rehabilitation phase, and as per the PDNA the combined total losses accounted of Rs 3.3 trillion, damages of Rs3.2 trillion and needs of Rs 3.4 trillion. All ministries and provinces worked with the development partners to collate the date and compile these figures.”
She said further planning would have to be made keeping in view the risk of future hazards as 5.5 million in households having children below five not immunised, 1.5 million households having no water sanitation and hygiene (WASH) facilities, and 2.8 million households did not get postnatal treatment.
She noted that the two lakes formed in the flood-affected region primarily Sindh and Balochistan could not lose water as the water was not receding due to the terrain and topography of the region.
“The destruction caused by the massive torrential rain floods is high and the resources are limited to support the impacted communities.”
The opposition, she said, was dragging the country towards a bleak direction as their fake narrative had cast serious impacts on the society that also gained huge media coverage. “World Bank, AIB, UNDP and all ambassadors of diplomatic corps sat together to provide assistance to the nation. The government is doing its job and will continue to do so whereas the Opposition will do bloody long march.”
The minister while taking the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leadership to task said Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari also did long march from Karachi and not even a single vase was damaged.
“Imran Khan lacked public support that’s why he is starting his march from Lahore otherwise he should have called it from Karachi. His close party associate Faisal Vawda claimed it a bloody march and predicted bloodshed during the march.”
The trolling brigade of Imran Khan continued their narrative of abusive language all over the social media, she said, adding, “Imran Khan made propaganda on the diplomatic cable and uttered lies blatantly before the nation. He abused his opponents in the morning and besieged them in the evening.”
She alleged that Khan was going to sacrifice the country for his insatiable urge for power as there were 33 million people were affected equal to the population of Belgium, Netherlands and Sweden combined. “You did two telethons for them where is that money and where it was spent? Did you ever query what damages you incurred to the country? Imran Khan lied to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and isolated the country.”
Commenting on the killing of late senior journalist Arshad Sharif, she said the PTI leadership used a very capable journalist and made his tragic death controversial. Arshad Sharif was a dear one of everyone and after all he was a journalist apart from his ideology and political thinking, she added.
“Why he was set to Kenya after visa expiry? Why have you not kept him in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa?” the minister queried Imran Khan.
She said the government had no issue with the PTI protest, if they remained within their limits, but if they wanted to spark violence and build hoax narrative on it then the law would take its course.
She noted that Khan himself got rebuked as “Tosha Khana thief slogans were hurled against him and the same trend that he set for his opponents was now affecting him.”
