Islamabad:
The Federal Minister for Climate Change and Environmental Coordination, Senator Musadik Malik, announced Thursday that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had ordered a complete 300 -day implementation plan within 15 days to meet climate change challenges, including the risks set by monsoon rains and the acceleration of the glacial merger.
The directives occurred one day after Prime Minister Shehbaz declared a climate and an agricultural emergency for the rains and the floods in progress across the country.
Speaking at a press conference flanked by the President of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), the lieutenant-general Inam Haider Malik, the Minister declared that the action plan would be developed in coordination with the federal ministries, the provincial governments, the armed forces, social organizations and non-governmental bodies.
“We must act in our own resources, with the support of the civil administration, the well-being establishments and the armed forces to protect our children and our communities,” he said.
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The Minister added that the Prime Minister, at a recent meeting of the cabinet, said both a national climate emergency and an agricultural emergency. He said the measures have been designed to prevent losses during the next monsoon season and the ice merger. “It is not unique in Pakistan. The whole world is changing, and all nations must wake up with this reality,” he observed.
Describing the response of government floods, Malik said more than 2.4 million people had been evacuated to Punjab, while the Sindh received advanced warnings due to delayed water entries. “From Siackot to Narowal, Lahore, Shahdara, Jhang and Sargodha, two big flood waves have already been followed, with one now approaching near the Punjnad head,” he said.
The Minister congratulated the role of social protection organizations, saying that she had delivered more than 2,000 tonnes of emergency products, while provincial administrations and soldiers worked closely in the field. “During the national crises, we hold together-Punjab, Sindh, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir. It is a natural calamity, and we face it collectively as a nation,” he maintained.
Malik said the climate action plan would be finalized in a month and underlined the government’s commitment to preparation and resilience. “We pray that no devastation never comes back, but if this is the case, Pakistan will be confronted with him, with preparation, resilience and faith,” he concluded.
The Minister also revealed that Pakistan remains among the countries most affected by climate change. He urged the provinces to ensure preparations for early monsoon and praised the commitment of private and social sectors in help efforts. Serious damage has been reported to Sialkot and Narowal, while Sindh, he said, had already made precautionary arrangements. He also confirmed that the number of deaths against rains and floods had increased more than 930 nationally.
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Meanwhile, during a briefing on the floods at the headquarters of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), the president of the NDMA, the lieutenant-general Inam Haider Malik, said that livestock and cultures had been destroyed in many areas.
“The situation in the Sutlej, Ravi and Chenab regions is under control and rescue operations continue across the country,” said Inam Haider. “In Punjab, 2.4 million people were moved to safe areas, while in Sindh, some 150,000 people were moved.”
He added that help efforts were supported by social protection organizations, to which the NDMA was “grateful”. To reduce water pressure, the embankments have been deliberately raped in certain areas, he said.
According to Inam Haider, the Punjab government has received ration packages and 9,000 tents, while more than 9,000 tonnes of food rations were distributed in the province.
The chief of the NDMA warned that crops had suffered serious damage due to the floods, while the rise in temperatures accelerated the fusion of glaciers. “From September 16 to 18, precipitation is expected in the center of Punjab and Azad Cashmere,” he said. “We have to act together to meet climatic challenges.”
