The former prime minister of Malaysia Mahathir Mohamad has appealed to the world to come together and help Pakistan overcome the effects of the devastating floods.
According to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), more than 1,300 people have lost their lives, while 33 million more have been affected by the devasting floods which ravaged different parts of the country.
In a recorded message, Mohamad said that the flood situation in Pakistan is, indeed, a calamity that has devastated the country.
“No words can actually accurately describe the magnitude of this catastrophe,” he said, adding that some 33 million people including 16 million children have been affected by heavy downpours causing floods and landslides.”
Citing statistics compiled by UNICEF, Mohamad said that because of the floods, as many as 7 million people have been temporarily displaced.
“The staggering number of victims could well make this one of the biggest-ever numbers of people affected during a peacetime calamity,” he said.
“Critical infrastructure is damaged, homes and farms destroyed, and livestock perished with millions of survivors facing the daunting task of rebuilding their lives from zero.”
He said that the rehabilitation and reconstruction of roads, public utilities and health facilities must take precedence as Pakistan tries to rebuild itself.
The former premier of Malaysia went on to say that given the circumstances, the world “cannot expect Pakistan to handle all these on its own.”
“The world must come together [and] international aid agencies must mobilise their resources, to help build public health facilities,” he said. “If we are prepared to volunteer for wars and commit funds for weapons and killing machines, surely we can spare some for saving humanity.”