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Published 09 Dec, 2011 02:59am

Prince Charles in plea for Pakistan flood victims

LONDON: Britain's Prince Charles urged the world not to forget the victims of the Pakistan floods of more than three months ago, saying their suffering was being overlooked.

The Pakistan Humanitarian Forum, a network of the 41 largest international charities, says more than five million people were affected by the floods.

Charles, the heir to the throne, hosted a dinner Thursday night for the Pakistan Recovery Fund (PRF) at the Natural History Museum in London.

The prince said: “Despite the scale of devastation, the level of suffering and the level of need, the story seems to vanish all too quickly from the headlines as the world's attention turns to disaster and destruction elsewhere. Yet the suffering in Pakistan goes on.”

Charles, 63, is patron of the PRF, which seeks funding for community-based initiatives to help resolve the crisis. Charles and his wife Camilla visited Pakistan in 2006.

Suniya Qureshi, executive director of the British Pakistan Foundation, said the cricket corruption scandal had contributed to poor public opinion of Pakistan in Britain.

However, the “misbehaviour” of a few should not detract attention from the needs of the rest of the population.

She said Charles was “highlighting the plight of 187 million people”.

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