LONDON: Pakistani film star Mehwish Hayat will this week launch a worldwide appeal for help in the wake of the catastrophic floods affecting her home country, a British-based charity has announced.
Since late July, extreme monsoon downpours have wreaked havoc across Pakistan, displacing over 33 million people. Official figures suggest more than 1,500 people have already lost their lives and the number is increasing daily.
Pakistan’s planning minister has estimated that at least $10 billion worth of damage has been caused and that serious food shortages will plague the nation for the foreseeable future.
As global ambassador for international humanitarian relief agency Penny Appeal, “Ms Marvel” star Hayat has previously used her profile to raise life-saving funds for other emergencies, including the Ukraine crisis earlier this year. On that occasion she mobilized support from the international Muslim community for Ukrainian refugees, saying that “suffering has no nationality, race or creed.”
Now, with Pakistan facing the worst flooding it has ever seen, the Karachi-born celebrity hopes her appeal will help bring relief and safety to the country’s 220 million residents.
