Kerry urges world to extend more help

[Lahore_Real_Estate]

WASHINGTON: “The world isn’t keeping up with the challenge” posed by the floods in Pakistan, warns Chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee John Kerry. “Much more needs to be done by foreign governments and private citizens alike.”

In an op-ed piece for The Boston Globe on Sunday, Senator Kerry refers to his visit to the flood-hit areas earlier this month to convey the scale of disaster.

“This is Pakistan’s Katrina,” he warns. “It’s not just that one-fifth of the country — an area about the size of New England — is submerged. Nor is it that, with weeks left in the monsoon season, it could get worse. More than 1,600 people have been killed, 6 million are homeless, and more than 17 million have been affected in some way.

“Those chilling numbers don’t convey what I saw when our helicopter touched down in Multan on the Punjab plains. This is no isolated hamlet, but an ancient city, a district capital with a population of over 1.5 million. And it’s inundated with water.”

The senator also emphasises the need “to be transparent about how we are spending money in Pakistan and tailor our assistance to what Pakistanis want”.

The Pakistanis, he argues, “need to feel tangible benefits from US aid and see that we are spending our money to help them. Some remain suspicious of US efforts to channel money through the Pakistani government, which they view as corrupt or inadequate”.

The danger of the floods, he warns, extends beyond a very real humanitarian crisis.

“A stable and secure Pakistan, based on democracy and the rule of law, is in all of our interests. Pakistan has made enormous strides in combating extremism and terrorism — at great sacrifice by its soldiers, police, and citizens. But its ability to keep up the fight requires an effective response to this crisis,” says the senator.

“Pakistan’s Katrina has put enormous pressure on the Pakistan government. It will take years and billions of dollars to recover. By helping Pakistan do it right, we can have a positive and lasting impact,” Senator Kerry concludes.