Bilawal asks govt, IMF to consider plight of flood-affectees

Karachi: Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari asked the federal government as well as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to not burden the flood affectees with more inflation.

The Foreign Minister said that the problems of the flood affectees should be considered as they could not afford the economic difficulties.

He expressed these words while addressing a conference for a post-flood rebuilding project in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Sindh on wednesday.

He also inaugurated release of funds for house construction of flood affectees in Sindh province at a conference in Karachi on Wednesday.

The reaction came at the moment when Pakistan and IMF have been holding talks for last week for revival of the programme. If the government successfully gets the IMF program then it will be able to  get money from other platforms that are looking for a green-light from the lender.

Bilawal said that the flood affectees should be provided relief like the people during the pandemic days were in 2020.

He pointed out that the international organisations including the IMF had responsivity “to suggest reforms for our betterment. He demanded that the flood affectees be provided protection so that they can come out of the current situation”.

The funds will be initially utilized in eight flood affected districts of the province including Larkana, Sukkur, Dadu, Hyderabad, Thatta, Shaheed Benazirabad, Umerkot and Tando Allahyar.

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Shah informed, on the occasion, that around two point one million houses had been damaged in floods in the province.

Meanwhile, the Sindh government under public-private partnership signed an agreement for reconstruction of flood affected houses.

Hadi Bux of Sindh Rural Support Programme and Chief Executive Officer Housing Khalid Shaikh signed the agreement.