ISLAMABAD: A five-member delegation of a prominent group representing Pakistani-American activists and community members is scheduled to hold meetings with prominent US politicians in Washington this week, reported the APP news agency on Monday, to seek additional financial assistance for their home country in the wake of the recent floods.
Pakistan witnessed unprecedented monsoon rains and floods this year which at one point submerged nearly a third of the country, claiming about 1,700 lives and affecting over 33 million people. The situation also caused immense damage to public infrastructure, and the overall losses in monetary terms exceeded $30 billion.
The US and other members of the international community sent aid and humanitarian assistance for flood-affected people in Pakistan, though it was widely recognized that the rehabilitation work would require more money than the Pakistani government could spare while facing tough economic challenges.
The APP reported on Monday the American-Pakistani Public Affairs Committee (APPAC) would send its delegation “to meet Congressional leaders in Washington this week to make a case for additional funds for flood-battered Pakistan.”
“On Wednesday, they will meet Chairman of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, Bob Menendez, a Democrat, Lindsey Graham, a senior Republican Senator, and Senator Cory Booker, a Democrat,” it added.
APPAC is an active advocacy group that has been working to raise funds of the flood-affected people in Pakistan.
It also hired a lobbying firm to secure substantial funding for the country to help it deal with the huge devastation left behind by floods that were caused by the problem global climate change.
Last September, chairman of the US Senate foreign affairs committee said his country had provided $53 million for flood-affected people in Pakistan, though it was “like a drop in a bucket” while urging the administration in Washington to send more financial aid to the South Asian country.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also traveled to Pakistan’s flood-hit areas during the same period and said he had “never seen climate carnage of this scale.”
