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Pakistan looks ‘like a sea’ after floods, PM Shehbaz says, as 18 more die

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  • Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif visits flood-hit areas in Sindh.
  • You won’t believe scale of destruction there, PM tells journalists.
  • 33 million of a population of 220 million have been affected so far.

SEHWAN: Parts of Pakistan seemed “like a sea”, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Wednesday, after visiting some of the flood-hit areas that cover as much as a third of the South Asian nation, where 18 more deaths took the toll from days of rain to 1,343.

As many as 33 million of a population of 220 million have been affected in a disaster blamed on climate change that has left hundreds of thousands homeless and caused losses of at least $10 billion, officials estimate.

“You wouldn’t believe the scale of destruction there,” PM Shehbaz told media after a visit to the southern province of Sindh. “It is water everywhere as far as you could see. It is just like a sea.”

The government, which has boosted cash handouts for flood victims to 70 billion Pakistani rupees ($313.90 million), will buy 200,000 tents to house displaced families, he added.

Receding waters threaten a new challenge in the form of water-borne infectious diseases, PM Shehbaz said.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif addresses journalists in Sindh after visiting flood-hit areas, on September 7, 2022. — Reuters
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif addresses journalists in Sindh after visiting flood-hit areas, on September 7, 2022. — Reuters

“We will need trillions of rupees to cope with this calamity.”

The United Nations has called for $160 million in aid to help the flood victims.

Many of those affected are from Sindh, where Pakistan’s largest freshwater lake is dangerously close to bursting its banks, even after having been breached in an operation that displaced 100,000 people.

National disaster officials said eight children were among the dead in the last 24 hours. The floods were brought by record monsoon rains and glacier melt in Pakistan’s northern mountains.

With more rain expected in the coming month, the situation could worsen further, a top official of the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) has warned.

Already, the World Health Organization has said more than 6.4 million people need humanitarian support in the flooded areas.

Residents use boats as they travel amid flood water, following rains and floods during the monsoon season in Bajara village, at the banks of Manchar lake, in Sehwan, Pakistan September 6, 2022. — Reuters
Residents use boats as they travel amid flood water, following rains and floods during the monsoon season in Bajara village, at the banks of Manchar lake, in Sehwan, Pakistan September 6, 2022. — Reuters

The raging waters have swept away 1.6 million houses, 5,735 km (3,564 miles) of transport links, 750,000 head of livestock, and swamped more than 2 million acres (809,370 hectares) of farmland.

Pakistan has received nearly 190% more rain than the 30-year average in July and August, totalling 391 mm (15.4 inches), with Sindh getting 466% more rain than the average.

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Ahsan says all available resources should be used to eradicate smog at the air pollution meeting.

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According to Ahsan Iqbal, the country’s minister of planning and development, a non-traditional approach is required to address the pollution problem, and every available resource would be used to eradicate this grave issue.

Children are disproportionately affected by pollution, the Planning Minister stated during a special meeting on smog and air pollution in Islamabad.

He claimed that cooperation between the federal government and the provinces is urgently needed to address the various problems that climate change has caused in Pakistan.

Smog is interfering with everyday activities, the Minister added, and it has grown to be a serious threat to our future.

Burning crop residue is the cause of smog, he claimed.

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Deputy Prime Minister Speaks at COP-29 Summit: Pakistan Needs $348 Billion to Become Climate Resilient by 2030

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According to Muhammad Ishaq Dar, the deputy prime minister and foreign minister, the current international finance system is biased against climate-responsive investment in developing nations.

Pakistan, according to Dar, continues to rank in the top ten nations most affected by climate change. The catastrophic floods of 2022 caused losses and damages of more over USD 30 billion, and they reduced Pakistan’s GDP by 4%. It took USD 348 billion for Pakistan to become climate resilient by 2030.

Dar stated Pakistan’s continued commitment to working with the international community to address climate change.

“We allocate 20% of our annual public sector program to climate-responsive public investments, which include climate-smart agriculture, renewable energy, and integrated flood response,” he added. The goal of Pakistan’s national climate finance plan is to use climate finance to meet our demands for adaptation as well as mitigation,” he added.

Dar praised the forum’s dedication to establishing innovative climate finance tools that will unlock accessible, affordable, and available climate funding for developing nations.

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KP Police Apprehend Key Terrorist: Primary Perpetrator of 2023 Policelines Explosion Detained: IG KP

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Inspector General of Police Khayber Pakhtunkhwa, Akhtar Hayat Khan, announces the apprehension of the primary perpetrator of the 2023 police line explosion, along with the arrest of the facilitator of the police line suicide assault in Peshawar.

During a news conference, the Inspector General stated that the apprehended individual is a constable of the Peshawar district police and was affiliated with the proscribed organization Jamaat Al-Ahrar, a faction of Fitnah Al-Khawarij.

Personnel from the Counter Terrorism Department apprehended the suspect Muhammad Wali, also known as Umar, near Ring Road, Jameel Chowk, Peshawar following a successful operation.

He stated that Wali confessed to having visited many Jamaat Al-Ahrar bases in Afghanistan as a member of the group, where he received funding and training for terrorist operations in Pakistan.

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