Pakistan Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani cancelled his visit to the US for the UN General Assembly session after the country was hit by major flooding for a second year in a row.
Pakistan Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani cancelled his visit to the US for the UN General Assembly session after the country was hit by major flooding for a second year in a row.
“The prime minister has cancelled his visit because of the floods. Now, the foreign minister Hina Rabbani Khar will represent Pakistan at the UN,” the foreign office spokesperson said in an official statement on Friday. “The prime minister will visit flood-affected areas from Saturday and supervise relief efforts.”
However, the opposition believes that the Premier has cancelled his visit to avoid public criticism. President Asif Zardari was widely criticised for trips to Britain and France last year when Pakistan was battling floods that killed 2,000 people.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has already voiced concern over the flood disaster in Pakistan and pledged the United Nations’ continued commitment to supporting the Government in its efforts to respond to the humanitarian needs of the more than five million people in the affected areas.
Ban’s spokesperson has said that the Secretary-General was particularly worried about the situation in the southern area of Sindh province where people are in urgent need of food, shelter, safe water and access to health services.
UN agencies have already ramped up their support with the World Food Programme set to feed 5,00,000 people and the World Health Organisation (WHO) distributing 18 emergency health kits, each covering 6,000 people with complete essential medical care drugs for a month.
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