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British MP asks UK govt to immediately increase flood aid for Pakistan

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2 years ago

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  • Shadow Minister MP Preet Kaur Gill says it was a matter of huge concern that UK govt only pledged £1.5 million.
  • “I am concerned that this fails to address the scale of the devastation facing the country and its people,” she says.
  • She writes to UK govt Pakistan was victim of climate change and needed help.

LONDON: Britain’s Shadow Cabinet Minister for International Development MP Preet Kaur Gill has called on the UK government to recognise the catastrophe currently engulfing Pakistan and increase aid to the nation from just £1.5 million.

In a letter to UK Foreign Secretary Elizabeth Truss, the Labour MP said that it was a matter of huge concern that the UK government has only pledged £1.5 million in financial assistance to Pakistan in response to the immediate humanitarian crisis.

“I am concerned that this fails to address the scale of the devastation facing the country and its people. The United Nations has appealed for $160m, so the UK’s contribution to date is barely 1% of the total required to meet urgent humanitarian needs. As a close friend of the people of Pakistan, and with so many people across our country having close ties of family and friendship to the country, it is essential that the UK play its part and steps up to meet the scale of this challenge.

“What more is the UK government prepared to do to support the people of Pakistan at this incredibly challenging time? I strongly urge you to convene your international counterparts to coordinate and scale up a response proportionate to this crisis. The speed with which the humanitarian situation is evolving demands an equally swift response. There is no doubt that the unfolding disaster constitutes a climate catastrophe. Despite contributing less than 1% to global emissions, Pakistan is one of the most vulnerable countries on earth to climate change-related weather extremes. Pakistan has over 7,000 glaciers, more than anywhere else on earth outside the poles.”

The lawmaker for Birmingham Edgbaston reminded UK’s top diplomat that the floods triggered by unprecedented rains during the ongoing monsoon season are causing devastation across the country. One in seven Pakistanis are impacted, some 33 million people; over 1,000 people have died; over 287,000 homes have been destroyed; 719,000 livestock have died, and two million acres of cultivated crops have been wiped out.

She quoted Pakistan’s climate change minister as saying that a third of the country is now under water — an area roughly equivalent to the size of Great Britain. 

“The scale of this disaster is incomprehensible — yet the humanitarian situation is set to deteriorate even further as heavy rains continue over the coming days and weeks.

Flash floods and rain-induced landslides have been compounded by the inability of existing infrastructure to cope with the extraordinary amount of water, with nearly 3,500km of roads and 149 bridges already damaged so far. This is, in turn, impeding the ability of citizens to flee to safer areas and compromising the delivery of aid to those in need.”

MP Gill wrote to the UK government that Pakistan was a victim of climate change and needed help. S

“Once these glaciers melt, the devastation they could unleash would be irreversible. This must be a wake-up call. I have been deeply concerned by some of your comments in relation to climate action during the Conservative leadership contest. Delaying or withdrawing action on mitigation and adaptation, such as your government’s decision to cut £100 million in international climate finance in July, is an inexcusable abdication of leadership given what we know global warming will cause and what we can already see before our eyes. Climate change will be the defining issue of the 21st century, and it is therefore imperative that this government continues to honour its international climate finance commitments and leads from the front to galvanise global action in the run-up to the COP27 in November. I urge you to grasp the implications of this crisis, and I look forward to your swift and comprehensive response,” said the UK MP.

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PM Shehbaz will meet with Saudi ministers and speak at the WEF special session today.

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19 hours ago

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On the third day of his visit to the Kingdom, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will speak at the World Economic Forum Special Meeting’s final plenary, which is titled “Rejuvenating Growth.”

Other speakers at the concluding plenary, in addition to the prime minister, are Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Economy and Planning Faisal Alibrahim, British Secretary of State David Cameron, WEF Geneva President Brørge Brende, and WEF Head of Middle East and North Africa Maroun Kairouz.

Meetings with Saudi ministers of trade, energy, the environment, and agriculture are also scheduled for the third day of the prime minister’s visit. He will probably also meet with his counterpart from Malaysia.

Mohammed bin Salman, the prime minister and crown prince of Saudi Arabia, will be present at the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Special Meeting on Global Collaboration, Growth, and Energy for Development, which gets underway here today.

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The nomination of Ishaq Dar as deputy prime minister raises concerns.

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19 hours ago

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A lot of doubts have been raised by Ishaq Dar, the foreign minister, being appointed deputy prime minister.

No reference to the Constitution, regulations, or any other law was mentioned in the Cabinet Division’s notification of the appointment.

What powers Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif used to designate Ishaq Dar as deputy prime minister has come under scrutiny in light of this.

There are questions about the legal foundation for the deputy prime minister’s nomination as it appears from the notification’s phrasing that rules for the position have not yet been established, according to insiders.

Likewise, the announcement is vague about the deputy prime minister’s proposed authority.

Deputy prime minister would be purely symbolic, according to government sources, and would not be authorized to carry out prime ministerial duties. In Pakistan, the deputy prime minister has previously been nominated.

The PPP administration appointed Chaudhry Parvez Elahi as deputy prime minister.

Observe that Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar was appointed deputy prime minister on Sunday with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s consent; the Cabinet Division formally announced the appointment.

Dar holds the position of Pakistan’s fourth deputy prime minister. Previous appointments to the position of deputy prime ministers included Parvez Elahi, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, and Begum Nusrat Bhutto.

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Audio leaks case: FIA, PTA, and PEMRA pleas seeking Justice Sattar’s recusal dismissed

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20 hours ago

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The Islamabad High Court fined each of the three government departments Rs. 500,000 on Monday after dismissing their arguments against a bench trial over audio leaks.

The court may also hold the heads of the aforementioned departments—the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA), and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA)—culpable for contempt.

In the audio leak case, four government agencies—the PEMRA, PTA, FIA, and Intelligence Bureau—filed separate petitions with the IHC, pleading for Justice Babar Sattar’s recusal and asking for the case to be heard by the same bench that has previously decided a case of a similar nature.

The petitioners contended that in order to prevent a different ruling, Justice Babar Sattar should recuse himself from the case that was decided in 2021. The petitions of Bushra Bibi, the wife of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf founder Imran Khan, and Najamul Saqib, the son of former chief justice of Pakistan Saqib Nisar, should also be brought before the same bench.

During the current hearing, Justice Sattar also issued a summons to IB Joint Director General Tariq Mehmood, directing him to come before the court for the case’s subsequent hearing.

Following the issue’s discovery in 2023, the judge has been considering the aforementioned petitions.

The government agencies contended in the petitions in the case before Justice Sattar that Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani had already resolved an analogous issue in 2021. Thus, in order to prevent a conflicting ruling and for the sake of justice, they asked the judge to recuse herself from the case.

The departments are requesting that Justice Sattar recuse himself after six IHC judges—among them, himself—complained in writing to the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) about intelligence agencies interfering with the court’s decision.

On March 25, the judges called for the calling of a judicial convention to address the issue of purported meddling by intelligence agents in the judicial activities or “intimidation” of judges in a way that jeopardised the judiciary’s independence.

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