The minister made the remarks while speaking to journalists. He was joined by National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Chairman Akhtar Nawaz, Inter-Services Public Relations DG Babar Iftikhar and Major General Zafar Iqbal.
During the press conference, Iqbal praised the National Highway Authority for repairing 11 of 14 highways damaged during the floods. Work was underway on the remaining three, he added.
“Moreover, 81 grid stations were damaged 15 days ago. 69 have been restored till now,” he said. Iqbal said this was a lesson for Pakistan on the perils of construction in the vicinity of waterways.
He said rescue and relief centres had been set up in affected areas and the government was working to ensure an equitable distribution of donations. Iqbal appealed to Pakistanis and the international community to help the nation.
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“Pakistan’s carbon emission are lower than 1% (globally) but we are among countries most vulnerable to climate disasters,” he said. “The scale warrants a major humanitarian response for which the support of international community has started pouring in which we are extremely grateful for The scale of devastation, however, is massive and requires immense humanitarian response.”
NDMA Chairman Akhtar Nawaz said that this year showed the realities of climate change to Pakistan. “We saw four heatwaves that stoked forest fires and premature monsoon rains," he added.
DG ISPR Babar Iftikhar said that the army had been striving to conduct rescue and relief operations in affected areas. He said the Army Flood Relief and Coordination Centre had been established to ensure greater efficiency.