The recent flooding in Pakistan has done a great damage to the country. The livestock, crops and infrastructure have been badly affected. It is the time that the international community comes forward to help Pakistan as it struggles to cope with the aftermath of torrential rains that triggered massive floods. The UN Secretary General is on a visit to Pakistan and has appealed for massive global support for Pakistan. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Saturday urged the international community to support flood-hit Pakistan as the country needed massive financial help to overcome post-flood crises.
The UN chief said during his visit to flood hit areas of Sindh and Balochistan, it is not a matter of generosity, but a matter of justice,” he said reiterating the UN’s commitment, strong support and solidarity with the flood-affected populace of Pakistan. Guterres said that huge damages and losses were caused to human lives and properties. The UN absolutely supported the Pakistani nation and requested the well-resourced nations to support the country massively, so that it could face the future challenges of climatic changes and save its nation. The UNSG stressed that the international community must realize the serious impacts of greenhouse emissions as nature was striking back in the form of natural calamities. We must be hopeful that the world will come forward to support Pakistan and help it out of this difficult time. The UN Secretary General has rightly pointed out that despite very little contribution in global emissions Pakistan is one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change. Pakistan also suffered devastating floods in the past that resulted in huge human and material damages. However, international community does not seem concerned that Pakistan and other developing countries are suffering due to their industrial emissions. It is obligation of world community to compensate Pakistan in this disaster. The visit of the UN Secretary General to Pakistan will pave way in awakening the consciousness of world community. It will also help convey the message across the world as UN is the most important supra national body. So far, there is very less aid that has been received by Western countries. Rather, the brotherly Muslim countries like Iran, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and UAE have provided many plane-loads of relief supplies for flood victims of Pakistan.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has already served as UN Commissioner for Refugees and spent a lot of time in our country. The UN Secretary General always appreciated the role of Pakistan for hosting a large number of Afghan refugees. He himself admitted that Pakistan has less than 1% contribution in global carbon emissions but unfortunately is among the 10 most vulnerable countries affected by climate change. This year we have witnessed around 587% more rains than predicted. People of Pakistan have been affected by the loss of their homes, their businesses and livelihoods. The UN Secretary General has appealed to the world to support Pakistan and it is the responsibility of the international community to come forward in this regard.
On the other hand, the government at its end must constitute certain SoPs in order to cope with the challenges of natural disasters. The construction alongside the rivers must be banned. In the era of modern technology, natural disasters like floods and heavy rains can be predicted well in time and with accuracy. PDMA and NDMA must communicate with the local administrations to deal with the floods like challenges in future.
