File photo of Mahathir Mohamad. Saeed Khan—AFP
Malaysia’s former prime minister, Mahathir Mohamad, on Monday appealed to the global community to unite in helping Pakistan tackle the impact of devastating floods, stressing that the country cannot hope to rebuild on its own.
“No words can actually accurately describe the magnitude of this catastrophe,” he said in a video statement, noting around 33 million people, including 16 million children, had been affected by this year’s rains and flash floods, devastating the country. Citing data compiled by UNICEF, he said up to 7 million had been displaced by the floods and needed urgent aid.
“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 lamented, stressing that the rehabilitation and reconstruction of roads, public utilities and health facilities must take precedence as Pakistan focuses on recovery.
The world, stressed the former prime minister, “cannot expect Pakistan to handle all these [problems] on its own.” Emphasizing the need for global unity, he said “international aid agencies must mobilize their resources to help build public health facilities.” Similarly, he added, “if we are prepared to volunteer for wars and commit funds for weapons and killing machines, surely we can spare some for saving humanity.”
Mohamad concluded his statement by hoping the world would not abandon Pakistan at this critical time. “I sincerely hope the world, especially the rich, will mobilize resources to assist Pakistan at a time when humanity faces the perils of nature,” he added.
According to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), 1,696 people, including 726 men, 340 women and 630 children, have died due to various rain-related incidents since mid-June, when this year’s monsoon season commenced. In addition, 12,867 people have been recorded as injured, while over 2 million homes have been left either partially or fully damaged, leaving millions more homeless. Livestock, which serves as both food and livelihood in many rural parts of the country, has also suffered losses of 1.16 million, while the total number of bridges destroyed has hit 440, with 13,097km of roads damaged by the rains.