Aid needs to be multiplied rapidly for flood relief -Pakistani PM

Record ID: 1686912

  • Title: Aid needs to be multiplied rapidly for flood relief -Pakistani PM
  • Date: 30th August 2022
  • Summary: ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN (AUGUST 30, 2022) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF MEDIA SITTING DOWN FOR SPECIAL INTERACTION WITH PRIME MINISTER VARIOUS OF PAKISTANI PRIME MINISTER SHEHBAZ SHARIF LISTENING TO QUESTION SCREEN SHOWING MAP OF FLOOD DAMAGE REPORTERS LISTENING (SOUNDBITE) (English) PAKISTANI PRIME MINISTER, SHEHBAZ SHARIF, SAYING: "This is only going to provide $160 million. Yeah, so I think this needs to be multiplied rapidly. And I want to give one solemn pledge and a solemn commitment at my command that every penny will be spent in a very transparent fashion, every penny will reach the needy, there will be no waste at all." REPORTERS LISTENING (SOUNDBITE) (English) PAKISTANI PRIME MINISTER SHEHBAZ SHARIF SAYING: "Please try to understand we are wanting to have peace in the region. We (Pakistan and India) are neighbours, if not by choice, we are going to be there forever. The choice is up to us: to live in peace or live in war. We want peace but this will only come through sensible and though proper actions" CAMERAMAN FILMING SHARIF LEAVING
  • Embargoed: 13th September 2022 21:11
  • Keywords: UN aid flood sharif
  • Location: ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN
  • City: ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN
  • Country: Pakistan
  • Topics: Asia / Pacific,Disaster/Accidents,Floods
  • Reuters ID: LVA001162430082022RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Tuesday (August 30) the $160 million appeal by the U.N. for flood aid "needs to be multiplied rapidly" and pledged transparency for "every penny".
    Torrential rains and flooding have submerged a third of the country and killed more than 1,100 people in Pakistan, where army helicopters plucked stranded families and dropped food packages to inaccessible areas.
    Sharif also said he feared the devastation caused by recent floods would further derail an economy that has already been in turmoil, possibly leading to an acute food shortage and adding to skyrocketing inflation, which stood at 24.9% in July.
    Wheat sowing could also be delayed by the floods and to mitigate the impact of that Pakistan is already in talks with Russia about wheat imports, he added.
    (Production: Salahuddin, Sheree Sardar)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2022. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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