PM vows every penny will be accounted for

Shehbaz says infrastructure rehabilitation to cost $10b

ISLAMABAD:

Devastating floods affecting more than 33 million people were "the worst in the history of Pakistan", Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Tuesday.

"The damage to our infrastructure is vast and is spread all over Pakistan," he told reporters at a briefing detailing the government's relief and rehabilitation efforts at the PM Office.
Sharif said it would cost at least $10 billion to repair damaged infrastructure and provide aid to those affected, and appealed for international assistance.

"I want to give my solemn pledge and solemn commitment... every penny will be spent in a very transparent fashion. Every penny will reach the needy," he said.

“Torrential rains and flooding have submerged a third of the country and killed more than 1,100 people, including 380 children,” the prime minister told the reporters.

The prime minister urged the international community to extend maximum support for relief and rehabilitation of the flood-stricken people, assuring that every penny would be spent transparently.

The prime minister, in an interaction with the representatives of the foreign media, said, “I want to give my solemn pledge and solemn commitment” that every penny would be spent in a transparent manner.

“Every penny will reach the needy. There will be no wastage at all,” he assured the people of Pakistan as well as the donors.

Also, the prime minister received a telephone call from Charles Michel, President of the European Council, who offered his condolences on the loss of precious lives and material damage as a result of devastating floods in Pakistan.

The prime minister thanked the EU president for his expression of solidarity and appreciated the EU’s support of €2.15 million for flood-affected people. Shehbaz also apprised Michel of the widespread destruction caused across Pakistan due to unprecedented rainfall.

Later, writing on his official Twitter handle, Prime Minister Shehbaz said that in line with his commitment, President of Turkiye Recep Tayyip Erdogan was leading a “humanitarian aid drive for the flood affectees” of Pakistan.

The prime minister said that Turkiye had mobilised a massive relief effort for the flood-devastated population of Pakistan. “6 flights have landed so far; 2 more will arrive tomorrow. Train carrying relief goods left Ankara for Pakistan,” the prime minister posted a tweet.

In a separate tweet, Shehbaz, while terming the revival of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme critical to Pakistan’s economy, stressed the need for breaking the economic straitjacket through structural reforms.

“Revival of IMF program, though critical to our economy, is not an end in itself. It offers a pathway to reorient our economy. We will have to work hard to make it self-sufficient. Pakistan must break out of economic straitjacket, which is only possible through structural reforms,” he posted in his tweet.

Agencies