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The Sindh police have written to the provincial home department seeking the postponement of the twice-delayed Sindh Local Government (LG) elections for a third time, citing issue of manpower.

Earlier, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had announced that the polls in all seven districts of Karachi would be held on October 23. The second phase of LG elections - in Karachi, Hyderabad and Thatta - was initially scheduled for July 26.

It was later moved up to August 28 following rains, and then moved up to OCtober 23.

Now, Sindh Police and other provincial government departments have recommended that the polling be pushed forward by another three months as they are still scrambling to deal with the fallout of the floods.

Around 49,000 policemen are required for the municipal election in Karachi, said the letter, saying they were short of 16,782 cops.

The first phase of Sindh local government polls, held in June this year, was dominated by the Pakistan Peoples Party.

In the backdrop of international price-hike and recent exceptional floods, the economic outlook for Pakistan in the current fiscal year (2022-23) is likely to remain below the target, says ‘Economic Update and Outlook for September 2022’ released by finance ministry here Friday.

“The economic outlook for Pakistan in the current fiscal year has become uncertain and will likely remain below the target,” says the report adding the macroeconomic imbalances may ease with the expected slowdown in the economic growth.

It says, in March 2022, international oil and food prices broke out the upper bound of the margins observed in the last two decades, which impacted significantly inflation in Pakistan.

“Even if international commodity prices would mean-revert in the near future, domestic inflation may still suffer from delayed adjustments and second round effects. Also, the depreciation of the rupee continues to exert upward pressure on domestic prices,” it says.

At the same time, recent exceptional floods have destroyed human, physical, and livestock capital and deprived many families of their assets and incomes. Besides the cost in terms of lost lives and capital, these events will certainly affect the creation of gross value added and hence economic growth.

The growth was already under pressure due to unstable economic conditions in the rest of the world and due to the necessary fiscal consolidation, high rates of interest, and inflation.

According to the report, the fiscal deficit is budgeted to reduce to 4.9 percent of GDP, while the primary balance is a surplus of Rs 153 billion.

The budget for FY2023 was prepared to achieve the goals of stabilizing economic growth, increasing revenues, rationalizing expenditures through prudent expenditure management, enhancing exports, and protecting the vulnerable segments of society through relief measures and pro-poor initiatives.

However, the economy of Pakistan has been affected severely by widespread destruction brought by extreme flooding. Consequently, there will be a detrimental impact on the government’s fiscal situation from both the revenue and expenditure sides.

The trade deficit in goods and services declined marginally in July as both exports and imports gained strength, it says adding the exports are expected to stabilize. According to Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), during July-August FY2023, exports increased by 3.3 percent to $ 4.7 billion ($ 4.6 billion last year).

Remittances are expected to stabilize at around current levels. This together with the expected path of the trade balance and other primary and secondary income transactions would guide the current account balance.

According to the report, the agricultural outlook was still not clear as the output of both important and other Kharif crops has suffered significantly due to recent floods and unprecedented heavy monsoon rains. The stay of water in the cropping area may also affect the sowing of Rabi crops.

Meanwhile, the Inflation has started reverting as the MoM price increases have been on a declining path during the last two months. Though the YoY inflation has shown significant acceleration from June till August. CPI inflation is recorded at 26.1 percent during Jul-Aug FY2023 as against 8.4 percent in the same period last year. CPI inflation for August FY2023 is recorded at 27.3 percent as compared to 8.4 percent in the same month last year.

Therefore, Pakistan’s external environment faces rising challenges keeping in view the geopolitical conflicts as well as global and domestic uncertainties.

In Jul-Aug FY2023, workers’ remittances were recorded at $ 5.2 billion ($ 5.4 billion last year), decreased by 3.2 percent, however continued to remain above the $2 billion mark since June 2020.

Int’l inflation, floods minimize economic outlook for FY2023 The Large-Scale Manufacturing was affected by monetary tightening, and uncertainty in the financial market while flood has further aggravated the supply chain disruptions and dragged down it to negative growth of 1.4 percent in July FY2023 against 4.4 percent growth in the corresponding period last year.

The revenue collection during Jul-Aug FY2023 grew by 9.7 percent to Rs 948.1 billion against Rs 864.5 billion in the comparable period of last year.

The Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) reached $ 169.5 million during Jul-Aug FY2023 ($ 229.5 million last year) decreased by 26.1 percent. On MOM basis, FDI was recorded at $ 110.7 million in August 2022 as against an inflow of $ 58.9 million in July 2022.

Meanwhile, according to the report, Pakistan’s total liquid foreign exchange reserves stood at $13.8 billion on Sep 21, 2022, with the SBP’s reserves recorded at $8.1 billion, while commercial banks’ reserves remained at $5.7 billion.

ISLAMABAD: Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) Attaullah Tarar Tuesday lauded Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for effectively highlighting the climate change impacts on Pakistan, besides the Kashmir issue during his maiden address to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

“Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in his address to the UNGA has effectively pointed out the negative impacts of climate change on Pakistan and highlighted plight of the Kashmiris in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir,” the SAPM said while addressing a news conference in Islamabad.

The PM in his address said that despite negligible carbon emissions, Pakistan’s economy and people were paying the dual cost of climate injustice and high global warming causing massive flash floods which required the world leaders to take immediate remedial actions.

He said the PM also highlighted that Pakistan had never seen a starker and more devastating example of the impact of Global Warming. “Life in Pakistan has changed forever,” he quoted PM as saying.

On the Kashmir issue, he noted that the PM said Pakistan desired peace with all its neighbours including India, however, sustainable peace and stability in South Asia remained contingent upon a just and lasting solution to the Jammu and Kashmir dispute.

Tarar said the PM in UNGA pointed out that India’s ruthless campaign of repression against Kashmiris had continued to grow in scale and intensity. In pursuit of this heinous goal, New Delhi had ramp up its military deployments in occupied Jammu and Kashmir to 900,000 troops, thus making it the most militarized zone in the world.

SAPM criticized the harassment of Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb by the goons of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in London and demanded prosecution of the culprits.

He criticized PTI Chairman Imran Khan for polluting the minds of youths.

He said the toxic impacts of Imran’s politics of hate and division had saddened him and this tendency should be stopped. The culprits should be awarded exemplary punishment, he added.

Tarar said that he would submit an application the ministry of interior for the revocation of the character certificates and passports of the people involved in the incident.

He said that the government of the UK would also be approached for seeking action against the culprits and conveying the concerns of the people of Pakistan.

Attaullah Tarar said in the testing times when the people of Punjab were badly hit by the flood, the provincial government moved a summary of Rs 1.3 billion to purchase new vehicles for ministers and advisors.

He accused Chief Minister Punjab Pervaiz Elahi of becoming a hurdle in proroguing the Punjab Assembly session which had been going on for the last four months. About Rs.1.2 billion had been spent on the current session of the Punjab Assembly, he added.

The SAPM said it seemed that the CM Punjab had lost majority in the PA and feared that he would be asked for the vote of confidence by the governor if the session prorogued.

He said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had visited the flood-hit areas of the country and met with the affected families in KPK, Punjab Balochistan and Sindh provinces.

The SAPM said Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi and his son were acting as a facilitator of Imran Khan to arrange political gatherings in the province. “Pervaiz Elahi has not visited the flood-hit areas,” he alleged.

Attaullah Tarar said the PTI leaders were using Punjab province resources to promote their anti-state narrative. He said that Pervaiz Elahi had distributed about 832 jobs among his favourite.

To a question, he said that it was unfortunate that CM Punjab said that the federal government had not given any funds to the flood victims in the province. The federal government has distributed about Rs4 billion among flood victims through BISP, tents and food packets.

He asked in which capacity Moonis Elahi was attending the official meetings of Punjab government.

He also expressed concerns on allowing Imran Khan to use the university platforms to promote his anti-state narrative.

DADU: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday reached Dadu to inspect the relief activities in the flood-affected areas, saying the situation is dire and require hectic relief work and not rallies.

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah accompanied the prime minister, who visited Jhakro village in Dadu where he was briefed on the damage caused by floods and the relief work.

The prime minister also visited the medical camp set up for the flood-affected people.

“Four days of continuous rain caused further destruction. At least 800,000 people became homeless in the area. There is also a shortage of tents. The flood victims are being delivered ration through helicopter,” the officials briefed the prime minister.

On the occasion, the prime minister commended the efforts of officials and the Sindh chief minister for helping the flood victims.

Shehbaz urged the people to work in unison by extending a helping hand to the people suffering with the devastation in the wake of massive floods. Terming noble service the helping the people in distress, Shehbaz stressed the need for rising above politics and the so-called ‘number game’ in order to converge the energies to help the flood-hit people.

The prime minister pointed out that the post-flood situation in the country demanded to reach out to the flood victims instead of holding public rallies.

In his address to the locals during his visit to the tent-city set up in Jhakro village to accommodate the flood victims, Shehbaz said all the segments of society including the federal government, provincial governments and the people across the country needed to work hand-in-hand with an objective to mitigate the problems of flood-stricken population.

Shehbaz expressed satisfaction over the efforts made by the Sindh government, armed forces and the disaster management authorities in providing relief to the flood-affected people. He said the flood affected 33 million people including 1,600 dead and inflicting a huge loss of $30 billion to the national economy.

He mentioned that the government had disbursed Rs 42 billion among the flood-affected people as part of relief and rehabilitation activities.

The prime minister said Pakistan alone could not overcome the challenge of massive floods and called upon the world to amplify its assistance to Pakistan.

He expressed gratitude to the philanthropists for providing relief assistance to Pakistan in the hour of need.

He assured the flood-hit people that the government would leave no stone unturned in extending help to them.

Flanked by Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah and senior officials of the provincial government, the prime minister visited the tent-city where he was given a detailed briefing on the damage caused by floods.

PM Sharif was apprised that floods affected all areas of district Dadu, leaving 37 persons dead while damaging its infrastructure and crops.

During his interaction with patients at the medical camp, the prime minister inquired about their health and assured them of best possible treatment.

He directed the authorities concerned to ensure availability of necessary medicine at the camp to cope with the emerging challenge of malaria, diarrhea and other epidemics and breakouts.

The prime minister also visited a makeshift school set up in the premises of the tent-city aimed at preventing loss of education of the students after the floods swept away their schools.

He announced on the occasion construction of a smart school for the children of the area equipped with latest technological facilities.

PM Sharif mingled with the children at the school and joined them in raising national slogans of Pakistan Zindabad (Long Live Pakistan) and Quaid-i-Azam Zindabad.

The prime minister resumed his visit to the flood-affected areas within 24 hours as he returned last night from London, where he had stayed after attending the session of United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has urged the international community to provide urgent and adequate assistance to countries suffering from the impact of climate change.

Addressing G77 and China annual meeting of Foreign Ministers in New York on Friday, he said Pakistan has suffered massively by global warming in the wake of devastating floods.

“Pakistan emits less than one percent of global greenhouse emissions, yet it is now the epicenter of the impacts of climate change,” he said and added that one-third of the country was under water.

He said 33 million people have been affected and six million are absolutely destitute. He said around 1.7 million homes, over twelve thousand kilometers of roads, 350 bridges and five million acres of crops, have been destroyed.

Bilawal said that the total damage is estimated at over 30 billion dollars.

The foreign minister called for mobilizing urgent humanitarian, economic and financial support to the more than 50 developing countries which are in economic distress.

He, however, welcomed the proposal of UN Secretary-General for a “SDG stimulus” of 500 billion dollars to enable those countries which are in extreme economic distress to revive their economies and development objectives.

FM Bilawal emphasised on providing emergency food supplies through the World Food Programme (WFP) to the 250 million people in food distress, adding that prices should be moderated by enlarging food production and supplies and support small farmers access to seeds, fertilizer and finance.

The foreign minister stressed the need to promote global structures and policies to enable all developing countries to achieve the SDGs and goals of the Paris Agreement.

“We need to mobilize one trillion dollars annually as investment in sustainable infrastructure like energy, transport, and housing,” he added.

The foreign minister said that the industrial countries must fulfill their pledge to provide 100 billion dollars plus annually in climate finance.

“Half of this amount should be allocated to climate adaptation and a financing facility to compensate developing countries for loss and damage from climate impacts,” he added.

He said preferential trade access for developing countries should be enlarged and they should be offered policy space for industrialization.

The foreign minister said the induction of a fair international tax regime, including digital trade, was essential to enable developing countries to mobilize larger domestic resources for development.

“We should seek an equitable international information technology regime which bridges the digital divide and enables the developing countries to “leap frog” into the global digital economy of the future,” he added.

Highlighting the importance of connectivity for development and trade, investment and economic efficiency, the foreign minister said Pakistan looks forward to completion of the TAPI gas pipeline, the CASA 1000 electricity grid, the Pakistan-Afghanistan-Uzbekistan railroad, as well as the extension of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor to Afghanistan.

“Once Pakistan-India relations are normalized, we can look forward to the integration of the emerging economies of South Asia, Central Asia and West Asia.”

A survey has found that almost three in five Pakistanis are unaware of the term climate change with only seven per cent of those quizzed saying that it was responsible for the floods.

A surprising 17 percent of the 1,086 respondents said that the record monsoon and the devastating floods that followed were because of ‘our sins’.

The biggest reason for the floods, according to 28% of survey respondents, is poor water management, specifically the absence of dams and reservoirs. Lack of planning on the part of the government was next (25%), followed by unprecedented rains and prolonged monsoon (20%).

Ipsos, a multinational market research and consulting firm headquartered in Paris, conducted the survey with a sample size of 1,086 respondents between September 7 and 12. The drawback is that the sample size is small.

The survey result showed that nine out of ten people do not consider climate change a personal threat. That number drops to three out of four when people were asked whether climate change was a threat to the community.

Only 32 percent consider climate change a threat to their province. However, every other respondent considers it a threat to Pakistan.

Of the respondents, 69% were male and 31% were female. 42% of the respondents were from Punjab, 33% from Sindh, 21% from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 3% from Azad Jammu & Kashmir and 2% from Balochistan.

Three out of four respondents were from urban areas, while the respondents were spread across socio-economic classes. A similar method was adopted for the age group of respondents, with the graph forming a normal distribution chart and 35% of those quizzed in the 31-40 age group.

Another disconcerting trend to emerge from the survey is the perception in two out of three Pakistanis that the floods will occur next year as well.

When asked how big of a problem climate change is for Pakistan, 29% said it was serious, while the same number said it was not a problem at all. 21% respondents saw it as a minor or moderate problem.

On relief efforts, one out of two Pakistanis believe the armed forces have played the best role. The federal government is next with 34%, followed by NGOs at 13%, provincial governments at 2% and political parties at one percent.

Pakistanis are also opening their purse strings, with one out two Pakistanis somewhat or completely willing to donate to flood relief. A slightly lesser number (46%) constitutes those who are either undecided or not willing to donate.

NGOs have a slight advantage over the government, with 52% respondents saying they were the preferred recipient of their donations.

The Ipsos survey also asked respondents about the NGOs they trust, with the Edhi Foundation the organisation of choice for a quarter of the respondents.

Al Khidmat comes next with 21% respondents finding it trustworthy. Akhuwat Foundation, Saylani Trust and JDC Foundation next.

Prime Minister Shehabaz Sharif has warned the international community that the flood-hit country is on the cusp of epidemics and other dangers and if the world community failed to respond ‘all hell will break loose’.

In an interview with Bloomberg, the prime minister said that Pakistan had sought debt relief from the West.

“We have spoken to European leaders and other leaders to help us in the Paris Club to get us moratorium,” Sharif said in the interview, referring to the group of rich creditor nations. “Unless we get substantial relief how can the world expect from us to stand on our own feet? It is simply impossible.”

He said that there was a “yawning gap” between what Pakistan is asking for and what is available, warning that the nation is facing the imminent threat of epidemics and other dangers. “God forbid this happens, all hell will break,” Sharif said.

Pakistan has lost an estimated Rs481 billion worth of crops and commodities due to the monsoon and ensuing floods that has submerged one third of the country, including washing away crops and livelihoods.

The federal government, in a preliminary reported made available on Thursday, said that cotton crops were the worst affected.

Here is a list of the crops and the damages:

• Cotton - Rs239.41 billion
• Rice - Rs70.8944 billion
• Onion - Rs31.91 billion
• Dates - Rs23.78 billion
• Sugarcane - Rs20.56 billion
• Pomegranate - Rs12.56 billion
• Tomato - Rs13.59 billion
• Chillies - Rs15.45 billion
• Vegetables - Rs8.8 billion
• Yellow lentils - Rs1.15 bllion
• Split black gram - Rs0.75 billion

Province-wise breakdown:

1. Sindh: Rs364 billion
2. Balochistan: Rs61 billion
3. Punjab: Rs39 billion
4. Khyber Pakhutnkhwa: Rs16 billion

US President Joe Biden on Wednesday made a fervent call for extending help to Pakistan where floods have caused huge devastation in his speech to the UN General Assembly.

“Pakistan is still under water, needs help,” the president told the 193-member Assembly in its high-level debate, when he dealt with the adverse impacts of climate change.

The iconic hall of the General Assembly was packed-to-capacity with world leaders, including Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, when Biden spoke.

The floods have killed over 1,500 people and displaced 30 million as the Pakistan government, with the support of the UN and partners, is racing against time to help the distressed people.

In his address, Biden announced over $2.9 billion in new assistance to address global food insecurity, building on the $6.9 billion in US government assistance to support global food security already committed this year.

The compounding impacts of the pandemic, the deepening climate crisis, rising energy and fertilizer costs, and protracted conflicts – including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – had disrupted global supply chains and dramatically increased global food prices, he said.

A multi-year drought in the Horn of Africa had created a dire humanitarian emergency, with parts of Somalia at risk of famine for the second time in just over a decade, he added.

The overall death toll in Pakistan from the devastating floods has risen to 1,569 as 10 more people died in flood-related incidents in the last 24 hours, official statistics showed.

A total of 701 people have died in Sindh since June 14, followed by 306 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and 300 in Balochistan, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said in its report on Tuesday.

It said 191 people have lost their lives in the northeastern Punjab province, 48 in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, and 22 in the northern Gilgit-Baltistan region, the NDMA data showed.

A total of 12,860 people have been injured in the rain and flood-related incidents across the country.

The data showed that during the past 24 hours, 50,000 houses have been damaged and 24,775 livestock has been affected.

The heavy monsoon rain-triggered flash floods since mid-June have damaged a total of 1,208,161 houses, while an estimated 998,407 have been completely destroyed, the NDMA report said and added that over 998,000 livestock has perished in the rains.

It further added that 12,716 km of roads and 374 bridges were damaged.

Disease warnings

As flood waters start to recede, which officials say may take two to six months in different areas, stagnant waters have led to diseases like malaria, dengue fever, diarrhoea and skin problems, mainly in the southern Sindh province.

The NDMA in its earlier report said that at least nine people have died of infectious and water-borne diseases.

The Sindh government in its report on Tuesday said that a total of 318 deaths from diseases have been reported since July 1.

As the relief work is still going on in the flood-hit areas of Balochistan, the Sikh community has also responded to the call for help of the unprecedented floods that have caused devastation across Pakistan.

Dr. Gurjeet Singh, a resident of Canada, distributed relief items to the flood victims in Quetta and set up a camp consisting of 400 tents for the flood affectees in the Sariab Road area of the provincial capital. Singh also distributed medicines, ration, and the blankets among the victims.

Meanwhile, the president of Balochistan Sikh Sangat, Jespir Singh, told Aaj News that he has been involved in humanitarian work in Pakistan, India and Bangladesh for the past several years.

Earlier this month, UN-affiliated NGO United Sikhs rushed relief supplies for flood victims in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Charsadda district where thousands of people and livestock were badly hit.

Local Sikh volunteers of United Sikhs set up a camp to move flood-affected families to safe areas and provide them with food, water, and other immediate supplies.

KARACHI: At least nine people died on Monday of infectious and water-borne diseases that have attacked tens of thousands of people in flood-hit Pakistan, government data showed, taking the toll from such causes to 318.

The death toll from the deluge itself has touched 1,559, including 551 children and 318 women, which does not include the disease deaths, the country’s disaster management agency said.

As flood waters start to recede, which officials say may take two to six months in different areas, stagnant waters have led to diseases like malaria, dengue fever, diarrhoea and skin problems, mainly in the southern Sindh province.

The provincial government said in a report issued on Tuesday that nine people died of gastroenteritis, acute diarrhoea and suspected malaria on Monday. It has reported a total of 318 deaths from diseases since July 1.

The report said over 72,000 patients were treated on Monday at makeshift or mobile hospitals set up in flood-hit regions.

Over 2.7 million people have been treated at these facilities since July 1, the report said.

The influx has overwhelmed the country’s already weak health system. The provincial government has said that some 1,200 medical facilities were still marooned.

“We’re overwhelmed,” said Moinuddin Siddique, director at the Abdullah Shah Institute of Health Sciences at Sehwan city, which is surrounded by the flood waters, told Reuters.

Malaria and diarrhoea are out of control, he said.

Record monsoon rains and glacial melt in northern Pakistan triggered the flooding that has impacted nearly 33 million people in the South Asian nation of 220 million, sweeping away homes, crops, bridges, roads and livestock in damages estimated at $30 billion.

Hundreds of thousands of people who have been displaced are living in the open, exposing them to the diseases spread in the stagnant waters. They are in dire need of food, shelter, clean drinking water, toilets and medicines, authorities have said.

UNICEF has termed the situation of the families “beyond bleak”.

It says an estimated 16 million children have been impacted, and at least 3.4 million girls and boys remain in need of immediate, lifesaving support.

The country received 391 mm (15.4 inches) of rain, or some 190% more than the 30-year average through July and August, a monsoon spell that started early and stretched beyond the usual timeline. Rainfall in the southern province of Sindh shot up to 466% of the average.

There seems to be no end to Sindh’s problems where floodwaters have drowned entire villages as the province deals with an outbreak of malaria and dengue, with eleven children among the 14 latest deaths reported from across the province.

In Kandhkot, at least five children died due to gastroentritis and malaria. Lack of access to clean drinking water and stagnant water around tents and make-shift bastis (tent cities) for flood refugees being breeding ground for mosquitoes are among the reasons for the outbreak. Three children died due to gastroentritist in Khairpur and three in Sehwan. Reportedly, one girl died of hunger in Sehwan.

Meanwhile, two people died of malaria in Jacobabad while another adult died of dengue in Sukkur.

In Kandhkot, the death of five children due to gastroenteritis and malaria in Tangwani and Badani areas has taken the total number of deaths among children due to various diseases to 30 in the last one month.

In Khairpur, three more deaths have taken the number of children to die of water-borne diseases to more than 250.

A similar situation is developing at refugee camps in Qambar-Shahdadkot, where children are under treatment for skin-related issues.

In Sanghar, an influx of mosquitoes is not affecting people but also cattle.

In Sukkur, one person died of dengue, while hundreds of cases of gastroentritis have been reporte.

In Jacobabad’s Thal sub-district, a four-year-old child died of malaria and a 40-year-old woman died of malaria in the Gharia Khairu sub-district.

In Sehwan, the hometown of the Sindh chief minister, three children died due to the gastro outbreak, while a seven-year-old girl died, reportedly of hunger, in a camp for flood refugees.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will “absolutely not” default on debt obligations despite catastrophic floods, the finance minister said on Sunday, signalling there would be no major deviation from reforms designed to stabilise a struggling economy.

Floods have affected 33 million Pakistanis, inflicted billions of dollars in damage, and killed over 1,500 people - creating concern that Pakistan will not meet its debt obligations.

“The path to stability was narrow, given the challenging environment, and it has become narrower still,” Finance Minister Miftah Ismail told Reuters at his office.

“But if we continue to take prudent decisions - and we will - then we’re not going to default. Absolutely not.”

Pakistan was able to bring an International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme back on track after months of delay, thanks to tough policy decisions. But the positive sentiment was short- lived before the catastrophic rainfall hit.

Despite the disaster, Ismail said that most stabilisation policies and targets were still on track, including increasing dwindling foreign exchange reserves.

Central bank reserves stand at $8.6 billion, despite the influx of $1.12 billion in IMF funding in late August, which are only enough for about a month of imports. The end-year target was to increase the buffer up to 2.2 months.

He said Pakistan will still be able to increase reserves by up to $4 billion, even if the floods hurt the current account balance by $4 billion in more imports, such as cotton, and a negative impact on exports.

However, he estimated the current account deficit will not increase by more than $2 billion following the floods.

“Yes, there has been substantial loss to the very poorest people and their lives will never be made whole again. But in terms of servicing our external and local debt, and being micro- macro-economically stable, those things are under control.”

December payment to be met

He said global markets were “jittery” about Pakistan, given the economy had suffered at least $18 billion in losses after the floods, which could go as high as $30 billion.

“Yes, our credit default risk has gone up, our bond prices have fallen. But…I think within 15 to 20 days, the market will normalise, and I think will understand that Pakistan is committed to being prudent.”

Pakistan’s next big payment - $1 billion in international bonds - is due in December, and Ismail said that payment would “absolutely” be met.

The IMF said on Sunday that it will work with the international community to support Pakistan’s relief and reconstruction efforts and the endeavour to ensure sustainability and stability.

Ismail said external financing sources were secured, including over $4 billion from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and World Bank.

This includes $1.5 billion next month from ADB under the Countercyclical Support Facility - a budget support instrument.

The minister also said about $5 billion in investments from Qatar, the UAE and Saudi Arabia would materialise in the current financial year.

The three announced interest in investing in Pakistan earlier this year, but no timelines or exact plans have been reported yet.

He said $1 billion in UAE investment will “definitely materialise” in the next couple of months in the form of purchases in the Pakistan stock market.

Some $3 billion in Qatari investment pledges will all come within the financial year to June 2023, he added.

“They’re looking at the three airports in Pakistan, Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad … long-term leases. They’re also looking at buying two plants that run on LNG (liquefied natural gas)… those I think will probably happen this calendar year,” he said.

He said if the $3 billion figure was not reached as the financial year closed, the remaining amount would go into the stock market.

He also said Saudi Arabia’s crown prince had assured Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif that Riyadh would invest $1 billion before December.

Pakistan’s central bank announced on Sunday that Saudi Arabia’s development authority had also extended a deposit of $3 billion, to mature in December, by one year.

He said a legal instrument was going to be signed soon with a “friendly country” to activate a $1 billion deferred payment facility for oil.

Pakistan reported 37 more deaths in the last 24 hours to take the death toll from the devastating floods to 1,545, the National Disaster Management Authority said in its latest report on Saturday.

Sindh reported 32 of those deaths, while the remaining five were from Balochistan, according to the NDMA’s daily situation report.

It added that 92 people were injured due to floods in the last 24 hours. Since mid-June, the total number of injuries has increased to 12,850. Of these, 8,412 people were injured in Sindh, 3,858 in Punjab, 181 in Balochistan, 369 in KPK, 24 in AJK, and six in Gilgit-Baltistan.

Meanwhile, a total of 1,921,622 houses have been damaged, while 935,795 cattle were swept away in flood waters across Pakistan.

The floods, caused by record monsoon rains and glacial melt in northern mountains, has impacted 33 million people, sweeping away homes, vehicles, crops and livestock in damage estimated at $30 billion.

In its report, the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (Unicef) representative in Pakistan said an estimated 16 million children have been impacted and at least 3.4 million girls and boys remain in need of immediate, lifesaving support.

“The situation for families is beyond bleak, and the stories I heard paint a desperate picture,” Reuters quoted Abdullah Fadil, Unicef Representative in Pakistan as saying.

“All of us on the ground see malnourished children battling diarrhea and malaria, dengue fever, and many with painful skin conditions,” he said.

He said a lot of the mothers were anaemic and malnourished themselves, and with very low-weight babies, being exhausted or ill and unable to breastfeed.

NAWABSHAH: A seven-feet long crocodile strayed into the fields on the outskirts of Nawabshah spreading panic among the locals.

The crocodile, believed to be fully grown, strayed along with floodwaters into the fields of the village Muhammad Yousuf Dahari in the Jam Muhammad suburbs of Nawabshah.

Marsh crocodiles are believed to average 10 feet in length, while females are around eight feet. It wasn’t known whether the rescued crocodile was a female or male.

After the sighting of the crocodile, the villagers informed the town administration and the wildlife department, who escorted a team that rescuedthe crocodile and whisked it to the conservatory on a motorcycle.

The marsh crocodiles (Crocodulus palustris) of Pakistan have found a safe refuge in Sindh’s Nara valley, that includes the Nara Wetland Complex and Deh Akro-2 sanctuary.

Efforts from the Sindh Wildlife Department have resulted in locals realizing that wildlife needs to be conserved instead of harmed. The crocodiles also face a threat from poachers who capture it to for their skin that is used to fashion shoes and handbags.

Sindh Wildlife Department (SWD) Conservator Javed Ahmed Mahar told Aaj Digital that this was the third instance of crocodile being rescued and released in the conservatory since the monsoon.

He added that the crocodiles found in Pakistan are freshwater species that are scavengers and do not attack to hunt prey. He added that the same specie is at Karachi’s popular Manghopir shrine that are venerated and known for their docility. “It is a scavenger and opportunist eater. It is not violent,” said Mahar.

While estimates vary about their numbers - some saying as high as 4,000 to at least 1,000

• Mahar pointed out that there had been no survey to assess the numbers. “Wildlife is extremely secretive so it is difficult to do a tally. It is not impossible but such a survey hasn’t happened in Pakistan.”

He said that the number was in excess of 1,000.

The conservator pointed out that the crocodile was also found in the Haleji lake as well as in the marshy areas around the Hub Dam.

DERA ISMAIL KHAN: The people of Yarik, Kulachi and other areas of Dera Ismail Khan got a bit of a surprise at around 2 pm on Saturday when it started to rain hailstones.

Earlier this summer, an estimated 80% of houses were destroyed in the areas of Kulachi, Hathala and Kanori in the monsoon flooding. People have been repairing their homes since then.

KARACHI: Children and women are becoming more vulnerable as tens of thousands of people suffer from infectious and water-borne diseases in flood-hit Pakistan and the death toll from the inundation surpassed 1,500, according to government data and UNICEF on Friday.

As flood waters begin to recede, which officials say may take two to six months, the regions have become infested with diseases including malaria, dengue fever, diarrhoea and skin problems, the southern Sindh provincial government said in a report on Friday.

“Stagnant water is giving rise to the water-borne diseases,” Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said in an address to the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

“Millions of people are living under open sky.”

Women and children - mostly malnourished and in poor health in rural regions - are particularly vulnerable.

The Sindh report said more than 90,000 people were treated on Thursday alone in the province, which has been the hardest hit by the cataclysmic floods.

It confirmed 588 malaria cases with another 10,604 suspected cases, in addition to the 17,977 diarrhoea and 20,064 skin disease cases reported on Thursday. Some 2.3 million patients have been treated since July 1 in the field and mobile hospitals in the flooded region.

Three other Pakistani provinces also reported tens of thousands of patients visiting make-shift health facilities in flood ravaged areas, officials said, noting acute respiratory problems, skin diseases such as scabies, eye infections and typhoid.

“They don’t have specialists and medicines,” a northwestern resident Ali Haider told Reuters by phone.

A government report in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province acknowledged the complaints, stating that providing medicines and supplies remained a challenge.

“We’re worried about the malaria spread,” said Noor Ahmad Qazi, director of general health services in southwestern Balochistan province, told Reuters. A health emergency has been declared in the province, he noted.

Economic losses

Record monsoon rains in south and southwest Pakistan and glacial melt in northern areas triggered the flooding that has affected nearly 33 million people in the South Asian nation of 220 million, sweeping away homes, crops, bridges, roads and livestock and causing an estimated $30 billion of damage.

The losses will slash the country’s GDP growth to around 3% from the estimated target of 5% set out in the budget when it had narrowly escaped defaulting on its debt in a balance of payment crisis.

Pakistan was already reeling from economic blows when the floods hit, with its foreign reserves falling as low as one month’s worth of imports and its current account deficit widening.

The economy has yet to show any positive response to Islamabad resuming an International Monetary Fund programme delayed since early this year. The Pakistani rupee has been tumbling and inflation has topped 27%.

The National Disaster Management Authority has reported 1,508 flood-related deaths so far, including 536 children and 308 women.

‘Beyond bleak’

Hundreds of thousands of displaced people are in dire need of food, shelter, clean drinking water, toilets and medicines.

Many have been sleeping in the open by the side of elevated highways.

“I have been in flood-affected areas for the past two days.

The situation for families is beyond bleak, and the stories I heard paint a desperate picture,“ said Abdullah Fadil, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) representative in Pakistan, in a statement.

“All of us on the ground see malnourished children battling diarrhoea and malaria, dengue fever, and many with painful skin conditions.”

Many of the mothers are themselves anaemic and malnourished, unable to breastfeed exhausted or ill underweight babies, he said. Millions of families have little more than rags to protect themselves from the scorching sun as temperatures in some areas exceed 40 degrees Celsius (104°F), Fadil said.

The UNHCR said an estimated 16 million children have been affected, and at least 3.4 million girls and boys remain in need of immediate lifesaving support.

The torrential monsoon, which submerged huge swathes of Pakistan, was a once-in-a-century event likely made more intense by climate change, scientists said on Thursday.

The country received 391 mm (15.4 inches) of rain, or some 190% more than the 30-year average through July and August, a monsoon spell that started early and stretched beyond the usual timeline. Rainfall in the southern province of Sindh shot up to 466% of the average.