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NEW YORK / ISLAMABAD The response to UN appeal for rescue and relief operation in flood-affected areas of Pakistan rose dramatically to over 800 million dollars by Friday and more pledges were expected to come in, according to Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi.
Over the last two days of the UN General Assembly's special session on Pakistan, the funding in response to a UN appeal for $460 million doubled.
The foreign minister, who had come to New York to attend the special United Nations General Assembly session on Pakistan's floods, noted that the 'tremendous response' to the appeal was led by the United States, which had doubled its contribution.
The special session was called by the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Aug 19 to create awareness among member states about the enormity of the disaster. Mr Ban was profoundly moved by the unfolding tragedy in Pakistan during his visit last week and called for a special UN session to raise funds.
According to figures released by the United Nations Financial Tracking System, $490 million have been committed, while another $325 million have been pledged by governments around the world, leading multinationals and charities.
These figures include the contributions and pledges made to the United Nations appeal, Pakistan government and other relief agencies. Over half of the donations came just from three donors — European Union ($180 million), the US ($150 million) and UK ($100 million).
The three donors are stakeholders in the war against terror and hence realise the importance of helping Pakistan.
As the donations picked up, the UN appeal, according to the latest figures, stood 57 percent funded with $263 million received.
In New York, Mr Qureshi told reporters that another special session of the UN General Assembly would be held on Sept 19 in answer to a call by the US Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton.
The foreign minister said a special meeting of Friends of Democratic Pakistan would be held in Belgium on Oct 15 to raise funds for flood victims.
Mr Qureshi also called on Pakistani expatriates to donate money and material to the charities.
NOT GOOD ENOUGH
Although the pledges have exceeded the $460 million UN appeal, aid workers have warned that the needs may outstrip the contribution as the number of people in want of critical assistance have gone up from six million to eight million since the appeal was made on Aug 11.
A mix of reasons were being given for the worls's sluggish response to the calamity. These ranged from a corrupt image of the government to being a supporter of Taliban. British Prime Minister Cameron's terror export remarks reinforced this perception and made donation collection more difficult.
Private charities and aid agencies in the West have been able to raise very little and their donation lines have remained silent.
“A humanitarian disaster of this size anywhere else would have had, in my judgment, a much quicker, a much more generous, a much more instinctive response,” Tim Costello, chief of World Vision Australia was quoted by the media as having said.
Going through the hostile remarks posted on various websites seeking comments on assisting Pakistan floods reveals that there is hardly any friend of Pakistan in the outside world.
“Governments are giving donations because of the geopolitical considerations, some multinationals are also donating after being encouraged by different capitals, but Pakistan clearly lacks public sympathy, which is crucial for generating funds,” a Western diplomat commented.
