PAC grills NDMA over disaster response role

Pakistan could lose 65% of its glaciers, committee told

ISLAMABAD:

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has raised serious questions over the role of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), asking if the authority's role is limited to lifting dead bodies after every disaster.

A PAC meeting was held on Tuesday under the chairmanship of Juniad Akbar Khan.

NDMA Chairman Lt Gen Inam Haider appeared before the committee whose members questioned authority's funding, expenditure, and overlapping responsibilities with the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) and provincial disaster management authorities (PDMAs).

A member of the committee asked Haider what exactly the NDMA is if Rescue 1122 and the district administration are working in the flood affected areas.

"Is its job only to collect bodies? If the NDMA is responsible for early warnings and weather updates, then what is the role of the meteorological department?" he asked. A member also remarked if the NDMA's role is only to guide how to lift dead bodies.

The PAC chairman also pressed the NDMA chief to explain whether cloudbursts can be forecast, noting that victims in recent incidents were at home and not living near rivers.

Briefing the committee, NDMA Chairman Lt Gen Inam Haider said Pakistan experienced 22% more intense monsoon rains this year.

He said the country has 7,500 glaciers, of which 45% are melting rapidly, adding that the recent floods were caused by glacier melt, and next year's floods may be even more destructive. "So far, monsoon rains have caused 800 deaths and 1,100 injuries," he said.

He said Pakistan has already faced seven monsoon spells, and the eighth will last from September 2-11. Next year, rainfall could be 22% higher than this year.

He warned that if global temperatures rise by 2°C, Pakistan could lose 65% of its glaciers in 52 years. If glaciers vanish completely, Pakistan will face severe drought and famine-like conditions.

The NDMA chief recommended shifting from ground-based sensing to remote sensing — using climate satellites — to better monitor climate changes. Haider suggested banning tourism for two to three weeks during heavy monsoon rains.

The committee also discussed climate change financing. Members noted that when PPP chief Bilawal Bhutto Zardari was the foreign minister, the world acknowledged the devastation of Pakistan's floods.

Following the floods, a Post-Damage Needs Assessment was prepared, with a $16 billion portfolio of recovery needs. According to the secretary of Economic Affairs, Pakistan planned to arrange $8 billion internally and sought $8 billion externally.

Donors pledged $10.98 billion. $8.9 billion was pledged on account of multilateral aid, $1.4 billion bilateral aid and $6.13 billion project financing.

The World Bank committed $2.19 billion, including $1.9 billion in new loans. The Asian Development Bank pledged $1.9 billion, and the Islamic Development Bank committed $3.6 billion. Despite these commitments, members said Pakistan failed to build a strong enough case on climate change:

"We are one of the most affected countries even though we contribute almost nothing to global emissions. Yet, we could not effectively fight our case before the world," he added.