ISLAMABAD (AP) – Planes carrying fresh supplies are surging across a humanitarian air bridge to flood-ravaged Pakistan as the death toll surged past 1,200, officials said yesterday, with families and children at special risk of disease and homelessness.
The ninth flight from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the first from Uzbekistan were the latest to land in Islamabad overnight as a military-backed rescue operation elsewhere in the country reached more of the three million people affected by the disaster.
Meanwhile, a Turkish delegation headed by Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu met with Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif to convey his condolences to him over damages caused by floods.
Multiple officials blamed the unusual monsoon and flooding on climate change, including United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who earlier this week called on the world to stop “sleepwalking” through the deadly crisis.
Guterres will visit Pakistan on September 9 to tour flood-hit areas and meet with officials.
Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement yesterday that the planes brought food items, medicine and tents. Sharif had planned to travel to UAE today, but he postponed the trip to visit flood-hit areas at home.
So far, Pakistan has received aid from China, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey, Uzbekistan, UAE and some other countries. This week, the United States also announced to provide USD30 million worth of aid for the flood victims.
Pakistan blames climate change for the recent heavy monsoon rains that triggered floods.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Asim Iftikhar said at a news briefing the previous day that the crisis has lent credibility to climate change warnings from scientists.
“This is not a conspiracy, this is a reality and we need to be mindful,” he said.
According to initial government estimates, the devastation has caused USD10 billion in damages.
Pakistani officials and experts said there’s been a 400 per cent increase in average rainfall in Pakistan’s areas like Baluchistan and Sindh, which led to the extreme flooding.
