Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif has announced a climate and agricultural emergency in the country. Addressing the federal cabinet meeting, he said that the floods have caused great devastation. After Gilgit-Baltistan, Azad Kashmir, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab, it is now entering Sindh. Climate change cannot be dealt with overnight. This is a huge challenge. Pakistan cannot do anything alone in this. Everyone will have to deal with it together, but there needs to be a roadmap for that. He said that the Secretary of the Ministry of Climate Change has been tasked with preparing a program to deal with all the devastation. The Prime Minister said that an assessment of the agricultural losses caused by the floods is being made. Its details will be revealed next week and will be presented to the cabinet.
However, according to the information so far, about a thousand Pakistanis have been killed in the floods, while thousands have been injured and thousands of acres of agricultural land in Punjab are under water.
He said that keeping in mind the devastation caused by the floods in mind, after consulting the cabinet, meteorological and agricultural emergencies are being declared. A committee is also being formed under the leadership of Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal so that work can be started immediately, however, the provinces will also have to contribute to the flood relief. He also announced to convene a meeting at the apex level so that a solid policy can be formulated after discussions. After the cabinet meeting, federal ministers Ali Pervez Malik and Dr. Tariq Fazal Chaudhry, while talking to the media, said that relief activities are ongoing in the flood-affected areas.
The floods have caused widespread devastation in Punjab and the highest number of deaths have also been reported here. Despite this, the provincial government is active with its available resources. The Chief Minister, ministers and relevant agencies are busy with rescue and relief efforts. More than 4 million people trapped in the floods are being shifted to safer places. Since the affected area is largely agricultural land, crops were washed away in many districts, while thousands of houses were submerged, causing heavy damage to people’s assets and livestock.
Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, during her visit to Jalalpur Pirwala, assured compensation to the victims and announced a relief package: Rs 1 million to the families of the deceased, Rs 1 million for completely collapsed houses, Rs 500,000 for the collapse of a room and the loss of large livestock, while Rs 50,000 for small animals.
The Punjab government has also acquired airlift drones that can lift up to 200 kilograms and move the affected person to a safe place. The Punjab Home Secretary directed the procurement of 10 more airlift drones for civil defense and ordered the said drones to be immediately sent to Multan to rescue people trapped in the floods, as the Chenab River has submerged a large part of southern Punjab, many areas are under water from where people are being shifted to safer places. According to media reports, the Punjab government has started work on redressing the losses of the flood victims, while a new department is also being established to carry out this work efficiently, through which a record of damage to houses, crops, lands, and animals will be compiled, while an accurate estimate of the losses will be made through satellite surveys and ground surveys.
The flood is entering Sindh from Punjab, but two days of rains have already created a flood situation in Karachi. The rivers of Malir and Lyari were presenting a scene like rivers. Some low-lying areas of the city were submerged.
However, on the request of the mayor, the Chief Secretary Sindh called in the army, after which teams of the Pakistan Army and Rangers rescued hundreds of citizens. The Sindh government has completed its preparations by declaring the expected flood a super flood, but the water of three rivers is entering the Indus River through Head Panjnad, which may affect several areas of Sindh. According to the Disaster Management Authority Sindh, there is a risk of very high levels of flooding at Guddu and Sukkur Barrage in the next two days. The economic think tank Economic Policy and Business Development issued a report on the current flood situation, according to which agriculture and industry have been badly affected by the recent floods, which has also hit the country's economy and may reduce its GDP. The think tank recommended that emergency measures be taken to increase economic growth, and that the interest rate be immediately brought down to nine percent to reduce business costs. According to some media reports, the current flood losses are also being estimated in billions of dollars.
In view of the severe damage in Pakistan, the United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator has announced another $5 million from the organization’s Central Emergency Response Fund for Pakistan, while Canada has announced $2.6 million. Earlier, the President of the Asian Development Bank has also announced $3 million in aid. Although a climate and agricultural emergency has been declared in the country, its features are not yet clear. The committee formed under the chairmanship of the Minister of Planning should immediately issue a clear framework. The agricultural emergency has apparently been implemented to provide relief to farmers. Under this, flood-affected areas will be declared disaster-affected and compensation or loan facilities will be provided to them in consultation with the Chief Ministers so that their losses can be compensated. However, the nature of the climate emergency should also be clear.
Today, due to climate change, Pakistan is constantly trying to convince the world that its share in it is negligible, but still it is in the list of 10 countries most affected by it.
The rains here, melting glaciers, and terrible floods are telling the story of the effects of climate change. To control them, the government should not only organize wider consultations with all stakeholders but also approach all countries that have taken effective steps in this regard. For this purpose, the guidance of local and international environmental experts is necessary so that an evidence-based, integrated and workable policy is developed, under which necessary amendments are made in the laws and regulations of relevant sectors
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