Muslims donate nearly $1 billion to Pakistan
Published: Aug 31, 2010 01:06 Updated: Aug 31, 2010 01:06
ISLAMABAD: Muslim countries, organizations and individuals have pledged nearly $1 billion in cash and relief supplies to help Pakistan respond to the worst floods in the nation's history, the head of a group of Islamic states said.
The announcement came as floodwaters inundated a large town in Pakistan and authorities struggled to build new levees with clay and stone to prevent one of the area's biggest cities from suffering the same fate.
Foreign countries have pledged hundreds of millions of dollars to help Pakistan cope with the floods, which started a month ago after extremely heavy monsoon rains.
But some officials had criticized the Muslim world for not contributing enough.
Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, head of the 57-member Organization of The Islamic Conference, likely sought to counter that criticism by announcing Sunday that Muslims have pledged nearly $1 billion. The pledges came from Muslim states, non-governmental organizations, OIC institutions and telethons held in Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Kuwait, the UAE and Qatar, he said.
"They have shown that they are one of the largest contributors of assistance both in kind and cash," said Ihsanoglu of the various donors. He spoke during a joint news conference with Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi in Islamabad.
Ihsanoglu did not provide a breakdown of the pledges or say how much of the money would flow through the Pakistani government versus independent organizations.
Pakistani Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani criticized donations made to foreign NGOs rather than the Pakistani government, saying much of the money would be wasted "Eighty percent of the aid will not come to you directly," said Gilani, referring to Pakistani citizens.
"It will come through their NGOs, and they will eat half of it," he said during a news conference in his hometown of Multan.
The floods began in the mountainous northwest and have moved slowly down the country toward the coast in the south, inundating vast swaths of prime agricultural land and damaging or destroying more than 1 million homes.
Floodwaters surged into the southern town of Sujawal on Sunday after breaking through a levee on the Indus River two days earlier, said Hadi Baksh, a disaster management official in southern Sindh province. Most of the town's 250,000 residents had already fled, but the damage to homes, clinics and schools added to the widespread devastation across Pakistan.
Authorities in Sujawal were trying to limit the damage, but the water level has already risen up to 5 feet in the center of town and 10 feet in the surrounding villages, said Anwarul Haq, the top official in Sujawal.
The floodwaters also threatened Thatta, a historic city of some 350,000 people who have mostly fled to higher ground.
Thatta is the base of operations for local authorities trying to cope with a disaster that has overwhelmed the Pakistani government and international partners who have stepped in to help.
Authorities rushed to build makeshift levees across the road connecting Sujawal and Thatta, parts of which were already flooded, Baksh said.
"We are trying to plug the bridges at three different points to stop the water flow toward Thatta," said Baksh.
"We are trying all our best efforts." Thatta is located about 125 km southeast of the major coastal city of Karachi and 15 miles northwest of Sujawal.
Many of the people who fled Sujawal and Thatta headed to Makli, a hill just south of Thatta that contains a vast Muslim graveyard.
About half a million flood victims are camped out on the hill, Baksh said. Most lack any form of shelter and are desperate for food and water.
"We don't have water to drink, not to mention food, tents or any other facility," said Mohammed Usman, a laborer who fled Sujawal several days ago and needed water to help cope with a painful kidney stone.
The United Nations, the Pakistani army and a host of local and international relief groups have rushed aid workers, medicine, food and water to the affected regions, but are unable to reach many of the 8 million people who are in need of emergency assistance.
The US said Saturday it would deploy an additional 18 helicopters to help with the relief effort. The US military is already operating 15 helicopters and three C-130 aircraft in the country, the US Embassy said in a statement.
Secretary-General of the Organization of Islamic Conference, Dr. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu said Pakistan needed urgent assistance to cope with unprecedented devastation. He was talking to Gilani in Islamabad on Monday.
The Secretary-General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu called upon the Islamic Development Bank (IDB,) in consultation with the government of Pakistan, to work out long-term programs for the reconstruction and rehabilitation needs of the flood affected areas in Pakistan.
And during an urgent meeting in Jeddah, members of the IDB Board of Executive Directors approved the mechanism for providing assistance to Pakistan and decided to focus on scaling up the bank's strategic engagement in response to the unfolding disaster.
Meanwhile, American geological experts have predicted more floods in Pakistan as a result of climate change.
Comments
FASH
Aug 31, 2010 12:49
Report abuseSAMIR
Aug 31, 2010 19:24
Report abuseZAMAN
Sep 1, 2010 14:32
Report abuseThere is no doubt that these donation money will end up reaching different overseas bank accounts.
AJIT
Sep 1, 2010 15:00
Report abuseANDREW IN NY
Sep 1, 2010 15:04
Report abuseWith this "pledge" of $1Billion all that will happen is that most of it will be skimmed off by the pledging countries NGO's.
Get directly involved.