United States (US) State Department spokesperson Ned Price has extended his condolences to Pakistan and affirmed his country’s support for flood victims.
In a briefing, Price said: “We are deeply saddened by the devastation and the loss of life throughout Pakistan that these historic floods have caused. We stand with the people of Pakistan at this difficult time.”
He revealed that the US has provided more than $53 million in assistance to Pakistan and stated that more assistance will be provided.
Giving details, the spokesperson said, “As of September 12th, earlier this week, a total of nine US Central Command flights delivered more than half of 630 metric tons of relief supplies from USAID’s Dubai warehouse for the response to the massive floods. In total, CENTCOM will airlift more than 41,000 kitchen sets, 1,500 rolls of plastic sheeting, tens of thousands of plastic tarps, and 8,700 shelter fixing kits – all in support of USAID’s flood relief.”
Ned Price said that Pakistan’s F-16 program, is an important part of the broader US-Pakistan bilateral relationship, and this proposed sale will sustain Pakistan’s capability to meet current and future counterterrorism threats by maintaining the F-16 fleet.
“This is a fleet that allows Pakistan to support counterterrorism operations, and we expect Pakistan will take sustained action against all terrorist groups,” he added.
Last week, United Nations (UN) Chief Antonio Guterres visited flood-affected areas of Pakistan.
He urged the international community to support disaster-hit Pakistan as the country needed substantial financial help to overcome post-flood crises.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) warned that that the number of acutely hungry people in Pakistan is expected to rise substantially.
Record monsoon rains and glacier melt in northern areas of the country have triggered unprecedented floods, sweeping away infrastructure and killing 1,481 people as yet.
