Geneva: The United Nations warned on Tuesday the humanitarian situation in flood-ravaged Pakistan was expected to get worse, a day after establishing an air bridge to deliver aid to victims.
More than 33 million people in Pakistan have been affected by the flooding, brought on by record monsoon rains amplified by climate change. The floods have caused at least 1,300 deaths and washed away homes, businesses, roads and bridges.
The UN’s World Health Organization said more than 1,460 health centers had been damaged, of which 432 were fully wrecked, the majority of them in the southeastern province of Sindh.
More than 4,500 medical camps have been set up by the WHO and its partners, while more than 230,000 rapid tests for acute watery diarrhea, malaria, dengue, hepatitis and chikungunya have been distributed.
Such diseases are already circulating in Pakistan, alongside Covid-19, HIV and polio, and “now all these are at risk of getting worse,” WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic told reporters in Geneva.
“We have already received reports of increased number of cases of acute watery diarrhea, typhoid, measles and malaria, especially in the worst-affected areas.”
Jasarevic said it was still difficulty to get to areas hit hard by the floods, which have submerged a third of the country — an area the size of the United Kingdom
Mortality among newborn babies and severe acute malnutrition are at risk of increasing due to disruption of services.
“The situation is expected to worsen,” Jasarevic warned.
The WHO has delivered $1.5 million in medicines and emergency stockpiles, including tents, water purification kits and oral rehydration sachets.
It is appealing for $19 million from donors.
UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, has launched an air bridge to deliver aid from Dubai.
The first four flights took off on Monday, said Indrika Ratwatte, UNHCR’s regional director for Asia and the Pacific.
Six other flights are planned, with mattresses, tarpaulins and cooking utensils on board.
“The food insecurity is going to be huge because the crops are devastated, obviously, and the little they had in terms of livestock is also destroyed,” he said.
UN preparing for worse to come in Pakistan floods
https://arab.news/nnfha
UN preparing for worse to come in Pakistan floods
- UN’s World Health Organization said more than 1,460 health centers had been damaged
- UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, has launched an air bridge to deliver aid from Dubai
Pakistan welcomes Afghan scholars’ reported resolution against use of soil for cross-border attacks
- Around 1,000 Afghan scholars passed a resolution this week prohibiting use of Afghan soil for cross-border attacks against another country, Afghan media reported
- Development takes place as tensions persist between Pakistan and Afghanistan amid Islamabad’s allegations of Taliban supporting cross-border attacks against it
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s foreign office spokesperson on Thursday welcomed a resolution reportedly passed by Afghan scholars against allowing the use of Afghan soil for attacks against any other country, but still demanded written assurances of the same from the Afghan leadership.
According to a report published by Afghan news channel Tolo News, around 1,000 Afghan scholars gathered in Kabul on Wednesday to pass a resolution that, among other things, said no one will be allowed to use Afghanistan’s soil against other countries for attacks. The resolution also said that if anyone fails to comply with this decision, the Afghan government has the right to take action against them.
The development takes place as tensions persist between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Both countries have engaged in border clashes since October, with Islamabad accusing Kabul of harboring militants that launch attacks on Pakistan.
Afghanistan denies the allegation and says it cannot be held responsible for Pakistan’s security.
Speaking to reporters during a weekly press briefing, Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said he had not seen the full text of the resolution.
“Any developments with regards to the fact that Afghan leadership, the segment of Afghan society, realized the gravity of the situation that their soil is being used by not just TTP, but also by their own nationals to perpetrate terrorism in Pakistan — any realization to this effect is positive and one would certainly welcome it,” Andrabi said.
However, he said similar commitments by Kabul on preventing cross-border attacks have been made in the past but were not honored.
Pakistan and Kabul engaged in a series of peace talks in Istanbul and Doha recently after their deadly border clashes in October. Andrabi pointed out that Islamabad had insisted on getting written assurances from the Afghan leadership that they would prevent Afghan soil from being used by the Pakistani Taliban and other militant groups. However, he said Islamabad had not received any.
He said the resolution by Afghan scholars does not qualify as a proper written assurance from Kabul as it does not explicitly mention Pakistan or the Pakistani Taliban.
’NO FORMAL EXTRADITION TREATY’
Commenting on media reports of Islamabad seeking extradition of certain individuals from the UK, Andrabi confirmed that there exists no formal extradition treaty between Pakistan and the UK. However, he said cases can still be processed individually.
“In the absence of a formal treaty, the extradition cases can be processed on a case-to-case basis,” the FO spokesperson said. “And certain cases were submitted to the British High Commission in Islamabad for their consideration.”
Pakistan last week asked the UK to extradite two prominent pro-Imran Khan figures, former accountability aide Shehzad Akbar and YouTuber-commentator Adil Raja, saying they were wanted on charges of anti-state propaganda.
The issue had been brought up during Pakistan Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi’s meeting with British High Commissioner Jane Marriott in Islamabad. The Interior Ministry said Naqvi had formally handed over Pakistan’s extradition documents, requesting that Raja and Akbar be returned to Pakistan without delay.
