KARACHI: Jordan sent its first flight with relief goods to Pakistan on Wednesday, confirmed its top diplomat, joining other members of the global community who are striving to help flood-affected people in the South Asian country.
Pakistan has suffered huge economic losses after one-third of its land was submerged by record monsoon rains which began in June and killed 1,355 people while affecting the lives of over 33 million.
The country has received 50 cargo flights since the government called for global support after launching relief and rehabilitation activities in the wake of the natural disaster caused by climate change.
On Wednesday, it also welcomed the first flight from Jordan.
“As per directives of His Majesty King Abdullah II, today we are receiving C130 aircraft loaded with some humanitarian aid and relief items,” Maj. Gen. (r) Ibrahim Yala Al Madani, Jordan’s ambassador to Pakistan, said while talking to the media at the Karachi airport.
“The aircraft is loaded with food stuff, tents, mattresses, pillows and some other goods needed for human purposes,” he continued. “We will try to support Pakistan with more aids in near future.”
Jordan joins the world's humanitarian effort to help Pakistan deal with the calamitous floods as its first relief flight lands in Karachi on September 7, 2022. (Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
Islamabad has already received a good response from the United Arab Emirates, which has sent 19 flights with food, medical supplies and tents for flood-hit families in Pakistan. According to Pakistan’s foreign ministry, Turkey has also sent 11 flights, China four and Qatar three.
Meanwhile, Chairman of Bank Alfalah Sheikh Nahayan bin Mubarak Al Nahayan pledged $10 million for flood-affected people in Pakistan on Wednesday.
In an official statement, the bank said the chairman and the board of directors had “approved a fund amounting to $10 million to help with the extensive aid and rescue work required across the country.”
The bank plans to use this money to carry out flood relief activities through non-governmental organizations and will earmark a substantial amount for infrastructure rebuilding in different parts of the country.
Pakistani financial experts believe the country’s economy will slow down after the devastating floods from five percent estimated by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to about two percent.
“The Impact of the floods will slow down the economy from earlier envisaged growth rate of five percent to nearly two percent, which is even below the population growth of the country,” Dr. Khaqan Najeeb, former adviser to the ministry of finance, told Arab News.
“The complete impact of the floods is yet to be calculated, but initial estimates suggest that over $10 billion will be needed for reconstruction over a period of about three years,” he continued.
Najeeb said with low forex position, the country would need foreign financial assistance to deal with the calamity.
“Of course, large part of help is needed from the international community as Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves are quite low and the country is not in a position to spend a lot of money,” he said.
He suggested to call fundraising conferences after calculating the full impact of destruction caused by the floods.
“Once the economic setback to the country is fully calculated, multilateral and bilateral conferences can be held to raise funds from the international community,” he added.
