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Children, women suffer from water-borne diseases as Pakistan floods recede

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  • 536 children among 1,508 killed.
  • Over 90,000 patients treated in a day.
  • Situation for families “beyond bleak”.

Children and women are becoming more vulnerable as tens of thousands of people suffer from infectious and water-borne diseases in flood-hit Pakistan, government data showed and UNICEF said on Friday, as the total death toll from the inundation surpassed 1,500.

As flood waters begin to drain away, which officials say may take two to six months in different areas, the flooded regions have become infested with diseases including malaria, dengue fever, diarrhoea and skin problems, the southern Sindh provincial government said in a report issued on Friday.

It said more than 90,000 people were treated on Thursday alone in the province, which has been the hardest hit by the cataclysmic floods.

The report confirmed 588 malaria cases with another 10,604 suspected cases, in addition to the 17,977 diarrhoea and 20,064 skin disease cases reported on Thursday. A total of 2.3 million patients have been treated since July 1 in the field and mobile hospitals set up in the flooded region.

A man rides a boat past toll plaza amid flood water on main Indus highway, following rains and floods during the monsoon season in Sehwan, Pakistan September 15, 2022. — Reuters
A man rides a boat past toll plaza amid flood water on main Indus highway, following rains and floods during the monsoon season in Sehwan, Pakistan September 15, 2022. — Reuters

Record monsoon rains in south and southwest Pakistan and glacial melt in northern areas triggered the flooding that has impacted nearly 33 million people in the South Asian nation of 220 million, sweeping away homes, crops, bridges, roads and livestock in damages estimated at $30 billion.

The National Disaster Management Authority has reported 1,508 deaths, including 536 children and 308 women.

Hundreds of thousands of people who have been displaced are in dire need of support in term of food, shelter, clean drinking water, toilets, and medicines.

Many have been sleeping in the open by the side of elevated highways.

“I have been in flood-affected areas for the past two days. The situation for families is beyond bleak, and the stories I heard paint a desperate picture,” said Abdullah Fadil, UNICEF Representative in Pakistan, after visiting the flooded areas.

“All of us on the ground see malnourished children battling diarrhoea and malaria, dengue fever, and many with painful skin conditions,” he said in a statement.

He said a lot of the mothers were anaemic and malnourished themselves, and with very low-weight babies, being exhausted or ill and unable to breastfeed.

Millions of families are now living with little more than rags to protect themselves from the scorching sun as temperatures in some areas pass 40 degrees Celsius, Fadil said.

The torrential monsoon, which submerged huge swathes of Pakistan, was a one in a hundred-year event likely made more intense by climate change, scientists said on Thursday.

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According to Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif, accusations made against Pakistan by Bushra Bibi, the spouse of the PTI founder, are vile and disgusting because Pakistan has historical relations to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

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The defense minister stated at a press conference in Islamabad that the Kingdom should not be involved in politics for selfish reasons because of our historical, religious, and economic ties with Saudi Arabia.

2.8 million Pakistanis work in Saudi Arabia and send millions of dollars in remittances, he added, adding that making unfounded accusations against the country will hurt Pakistan’s economy.

According to him, Saudi Arabia has always stood by Pakistan throughout its most trying moments, and Pakistanis have a deep affection and connection to the Kingdom.

There is a breach among PTI ranks and files, and Khawaja Asif stated that we have never witnessed such a low point in politics.

Given the gravity of the accusation, the Minister said, former Army Chief Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa should respond right away.

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government should fight terrorism rather than target the city, he said, adding that the PTI’s demand for a demonstration on November 24 is the third strike on the federal capital.

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The Interior Ministry prohibits KP from using government machinery for PTI protests.

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Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is not allowed to use the resources of the Provincial Government for a party protest, according to the Interior Ministry.

On November 24, the PTI has scheduled a protest, and Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ali Amin Gandapur has declared his intention to participate.

The Federal Government arrested a number of Provincial Government officials who were ordered to participate in the violent protest in Islamabad by the PTI, and confiscated vehicles used by the KP Government against the state during the previous protest in October.

However, the Jinnah Supermarket Traders Union has petitioned the Islamabad High Court to halt the PTI demonstration in the capital and deem it unlawful.

In the petition, the head of the Traders Union has asked the court to rule that the PTI protest violates fundamental human rights by preventing companies from operating and removing the public’s ability to visit stores for necessities.

The petition asked the high court to protect the capital’s workers and PTI founder from unlawful protests.

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Planning Minister: The Nation Is Back on Track for Development

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Ahsan Iqbal, the Federal Minister for Planning and Development, asserts that the country’s youth are its future and that Pakistan has made great strides over the past 77 years, becoming the sixth nuclear state in the world today.

Speaking at a ceremony in Islamabad, Federal Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal stated that inconsistent policies have an impact on the development process.

According to Ahsan Iqbal, the CPEC got Pakistan on its path to growth, and the government is currently moving on with phase two of the project.

The country was in danger of defaulting, but the government has put it back on course, he said.

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