ISLAMABAD: Chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee Bob Menendez has urged the Biden administration to send more aid to Pakistan in the wake of the recent floods, reported the state-owned media on Sunday, describing the amount shared with the South Asian state a “drop in a bucket.”
Pakistan witnessed record monsoon rains and massive flooding in the last three months which destroyed houses, farmlands and public infrastructure across the country.
According to official estimates, the rehabilitation activities can last for years and may cost the government over $40 billion.
The international community has tried to help Pakistan by sending flood relief items, including food, medicines and tents, to help families displaced by the erratic weather conditions, though the country requires greater humanitarian assistance.
“The US government has provided $53 million as humanitarian assistance for flood victims, but this is like a drop in a bucket and we would need to do more for flood victims,” Menendez said while addressing an event organized by the Pakistani-American community in New Jersey according to Radio Pakistan.
“We have to get a disaster relief package for Pakistan from the US Congress and organize an international donors conference for the flood victims in Pakistan,” the Associated Press of Pakistan news agency quoted him as saying.
“I am willing to work with anyone in the US Congress who is willing to work with us to help Pakistan,” he continued.
Pakistan’s envoy to the US, Masood Khan, thanked the Biden administration for expressing solidarity with his country and providing timely assistance during the initial stages of flood response.
Khan praised the US senator for closely monitoring the flood situation in Pakistan and seeking a long-term commitment from the administration in Washington for rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts.
He also thanked US officials for acknowledging the link between extreme weather patterns stemming from climate change and the unprecedented floods in his country.
“The real challenge lies ahead as we enter the phase of bringing life back to the flood-affected areas, rebuilding roads, repairing and restoring infrastructure, generate, cultivate crop land and construct houses, schools and hospitals,” he told the gathering.
Other embassy officials praised the Pakistani diaspora community for making efforts to help their country after floods.
“Our diaspora community has always stood up in times of need,” Ayesha Ali, Consul General of Pakistan in New York, said. “The biggest challenge would be in the recovery and relief phase and we should continue to support flood victims in Pakistan.”
Prominent US lawmaker asks Biden administration to increase aid to flood-hit Pakistan
https://arab.news/9qjng
Prominent US lawmaker asks Biden administration to increase aid to flood-hit Pakistan
- The top official of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee calls American assistance of $53 million a ‘drop in a bucket’
- Senator Bob Menendez calls for international donors’ conference to help flood-affected families in Pakistan
No third meeting with Pakistan army chief on Trump’s calendar – White House official
- Reuters reported that Donald Trump was expected to hold a third meeting with Asim Munir in six months over a proposed Gaza force
- Pakistan’s top military commander has met Trump twice this year, including a White House luncheon without Pakistani civilian leaders
ISLAMABAD: A White House official said on Wednesday there was no meeting scheduled between US President Donald Trump and Pakistan’s army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, after a Reuters report cited sources saying Munir is expected to travel to Washington in the coming weeks for talks that could focus on a proposed multinational force for post-war security and aid delivery in Gaza.
Trump’s Gaza plan, outlined as part of a 20-point framework, envisages the deployment of troops from Muslim-majority countries during a transitional stabilization phase, intended to support security and governance as the war-ravaged Palestinian territory moves toward reconstruction and a longer-term political settlement.
Reuters reported that Washington saw Pakistan as a potentially significant contributor given its battle-hardened military, which has fought a brief but intense conflict with India this year and continues to combat insurgencies in its remote regions, adding that the visit would mark Munir’s third meeting with Trump in six months.
“This is not on the President’s calendar at this time,” a White House official said on background, responding to an Arab News query about a possible Trump-Munir meeting.
Munir has met Trump twice in recent months. In June, he was invited to a White House luncheon, an unusual and unprecedented interaction in which a US president hosted a Pakistani military leader without the presence of civilian authorities.
A second meeting took place in October, when Trump hosted Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and publicly thanked Munir – whom he described as his “favorite” field marshal – for Pakistan’s efforts toward peace in Gaza, alongside leaders of other Muslim nations.
Pakistan this week reiterated its position the situation in West Asia during an open debate at the UN Security Council, calling for a “time-bound and irreversible” political process anchored in relevant UN resolutions that would lead to the establishment of a sovereign, independent and contiguous Palestinian state.
Islamabad and Washington have meanwhile sought to repair ties after years of strained relations, with both sides working to boost bilateral trade and investment following what officials have described as a favorable tariff deal.
