Islamabad, September 2, 2022: President Dr Arif Alvi has called upon all the governments and political parties to pause politics and urged all stakeholders to launch a nationwide drive to mobilize the people of Pakistan, businesses, civil society and humanitarian organizations to assist civil and military administrations in their rescue and relief efforts to rehabilitate the flood victims and for the reconstruction of damaged infrastructure.

The President gave these remarks during a meeting with senior media persons, who called on him, at Aiwan-e-Sadr, today. Mr Mujeeb-ur-Rehman Shami, Mr Suhail Warraich, Mr Gauhar Zahid Malik, Mr Awais Rauf, and Mr Nawab Kaifee attended the meeting.

Talking to the senior journalists about his visit to flood-hit areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Southern Punjab, and the low-lying areas of Sindh and Balochistan, the President said that this unprecedented catastrophe had been induced due to global warming and climate change whereas Pakistan contributed less than 1% to the global carbon emissions. He further said that the developed world, being the major contributor to global warming and climate change, should proportionally bear the burden of rescue and relief operations, reconstruction of damaged communication infrastructure, rebuilding the destroyed houses and compensating the people for lost property, livestock and standing crops.

The President highlighted that the climate catastrophe had affected more than 33 million people; 1,100 people including over 350 children had lost their lives; more than 1,600 people had been injured; over 1 million houses had been partially or completely destroyed; entire villages had been wiped out; over 735,000 livestock had perished; 2 million acres of crops had been inundated, and the communications infrastructure had been severely damaged.

He also emphasized the need to launch a nationwide drive for increasing the forest cover in the country, shifting from fossil fuels to alternative means of energy and building delay-action and large dams to minimize the effects of climate change.