8 Million Pakistanis Remain Displaced After Summer Floods

Pakistan's Permanent Representative to the United Nations (UN) in Geneva, Khalil Hashmi, said Thursday that some 8 million people remain displaced after last summer's floods, warning that waters have not yet receded in some areas.

RELATED: 
20 Mln Pakistanis Rely on Underfunded Floods Aid: UN

The South Asian country remains in urgent need of housing, the Permanent Representative said during a press conference. The official said that flood damage had affected agriculture and the livelihoods of the population.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Representative in Pakistan, Knut Ostby, said on the occasion that more than 1 700 people had lost their lives in the monsoon flood catastrophe.

At least 2 million homes have been destroyed or damaged, as well as some 13 000 km of roads, 3 000 km of railways, 439 bridges and 4.4 million acres of agricultural land, the official said.
 

Ostby is also concerned about the stagnant water that remains in several areas, preventing many people from returning to their normal livelihoods and forcing them to continue to rely on humanitarian aid.

A high-level conference on climate-resilient Pakistan will be held at the UN Office in Geneva on Monday next week. The conference will be attended by Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and UN Secretary-General António Guterres. 

The conference aims to bring together leaders from the public and private sectors to generate international financial assistance for flood-affected communities in Pakistan, as well as to rebuild damaged infrastructure.