According to a Business Recorder news item, the National Assembly Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs has been informed by senior officials of Ministry of Foreign Affairs that following the UN flash appeal, Pakistan has received $3.4 billion for flood relief operations and reconstruction.

Pakistan has so far received 140 planeloads, 13 trainloads and six shiploads carrying relief items. In response to the members’ concerns whether the flash appeal was successful in meeting the desired targets, “it was observed that the appeal was “mildly successful” against the ambitious target set, however, given the international community’s shift in attention to Ukraine, flash appeal was a success.

In this regard, I wish to make the following points: First, $3.4 billion is no small amount in view of country’s precarious balance of payments (BoP) position.

The cargoes of relief items, too, reflect the success of the UN appeal. The support from global community cannot be described as ‘mild’ success, given the war in Ukraine, high interest rates in the rich countries that they have announced in order to counter inflation, and a recession-like situation in the countries from where Pakistan expected to get much greater support.

My second point in this regard is that the global lender, International Monetary Fund (IMF) has not done anything meaningful in response to Pakistan’s post-floods plight. Third and last, the government of the day hasn’t taken any firm step to put its own house in order as the rising current expenditure still posing a serious threat to country’s fiscal stability in a big way, deepening fears of sovereign default.

Sohail Anjum (Islamabad)

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022