Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif alerted Pakistan’s imminent bankruptcy before the international community following flood disasters and post-flood impacts during his address to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) and foreign media.
PM Shehbaz Sharif, during his UNGA address and foreign media interview, predicted Pakistan’s imminent bankruptcy before the international community and called for assistance in the shape of climate actions and debt relief.
UNGA address
In his address to the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif urged the world leaders to come together and “act now” to deal with the issue of climate change.
He said we expect some approximation of justice for the loss and damage by this calamity that has not been triggered by anything we have done. He said during the recent calamity, for 40 days and 40 nights a biblical flood poured down on us, smashing centuries of weather records, challenging everything we knew about the disaster, and how to manage it.
The prime minister said this calamity has pushed some 11 million people below the poverty line, while others will drift to cramped urban shelters, leaving little room for climate-smart rebuilding. He said more than 1500 of my people perished in the great flood, including over 400 children. He said early estimates suggest that more than 13000 kilometres of metaled roads have been damaged, over 370 bridges have been swept away, a million homes have been destroyed and another million damaged.
More than a million farm animals have been killed and four million acres of crops have been washed away, stripping the people of their breadbasket, and damage of an unimaginable scale. The premier said Pakistan has never seen a more stark and devastating example of the impact of global warming.
He also thanked each and every one of the countries that have sent help, and their representatives to Pakistan to stand in solidarity with us in our most trying hour. PM said, for now, we have mobilized all available resources towards the national relief effort, and repurposed all budget priorities including development funds, to the rescue and first-order needs of millions.
PM Sharif said he is fully committed to fighting this battle for our survival, in the tents and trenches with my people, until we have rebuilt Pakistan to face the growing challenges of this century.
He said Pakistan’s urgent priority right now is to ensure rapid economic growth and lift millions out of destitution and hunger. To enable any such policy momentum, Pakistan needs a stable external environment and we look for peace with all our neighbours, including India.
‘All Hell to Break Loose’
While talking to Bloomberg, PM Sharif said “all hell will break loose” if his flood-ravaged country is not provided with debt relief by rich nations.
In an interview with Bloomberg TV on Friday morning, Sharif sought a moratorium on Pakistan’s debt repayment from the Paris Club (a group of rich creditor countries) and others, saying there is a “yawning gap” between what is being asked for and what is available.
Referring to a visit to the flood-hit nation by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres earlier this month, Sharif said: “He saw this calamity with his own eyes. He said: ‘Prime Minister, it is unbelievable’. He is a man who has been dedicating his life for humanitarian causes for many years … He said he had never seen this kind of a climatic situation in his life.”
“We are among the top 10 most vulnerable countries (to climate change),” he said.
Sharif again thanked US President Joe Biden for speaking about “Pakistan and our plight” at the United Nations General Assembly.
“Many world leaders have discussed and openly said that Pakistan needs support more than ever and this shows sincerity of these leaders. But time is running out and we are racing against time,” he said.
He has already met several world leaders as part of his appeal to the international community to help Pakistan as it reels from unprecedented floods.
“What the world has done is commendable but it is far from meeting our needs. We can’t do it alone,” Sharif said in the interview.
The floods in Pakistan, triggered by record monsoon rains and melting glaciers, have affected 33 million people, killed nearly 1,600 people and destroyed more than a million homes. The stagnant floodwaters have raised concerns of a “second disaster” as waterborne diseases have killed more than 300 people so far.
Commenting on his interview, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Secretary-General Asad Umar said, “The yield on Pakistan sukook maturing in December has shot up to 113% today!!! Markets pricing near certainty of default. what are they doing to this country? Every day there is only bad news about the economy and news of the imported govt corruption cases being cleared.”
The yield on Pakistan sukook maturing in December has shot up to 113% today!!! Markets pricing near certainty of default. what are they doing to this country? Every day there is only bad news about the economy and news of the imported govt corruption cases being cleared
— Asad Umar (@Asad_Umar) September 23, 2022
Another politician Taimur Khan Jhagra said, “Here’s how a PM triggers international panic. “Unless we get substantial relief, how can the world expect us to stand up on our feet? It is simply impossible.” “Please help us avoid this disaster. If God forbid that happens, all hell will blow. All hell will break loose.”
Here’s how a PM triggers international panic.
“Unless we get substantial relief, how can the world expect us to stand up on our feet? It is simply impossible.”
“Please help us avoid this disaster. If God forbid that happens, all hell will blow. All hell will break loose.” pic.twitter.com/edXo8QMnsz— Taimur Khan Jhagra (@Jhagra) September 23, 2022