Qureshi thanks India for five million dollar flood relief package

NEW YORK - Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has thanked India for the five million dollar donation for flood relief, and urged the international community to come forward to help the country cope with the devastating deluge that has affected nearly 20 million people.

Qureshi said that his Indian counterpart SM Krishna called him recently offering financial aid for the flood victims, The Dawn reports.

Speaking during a press conference here, Qureshi said that while countries like the US have arranged huge funds for Pakistan, more help was needed to continue the relief and rehabilitation of the people displaced by floods, which have affected nearly one-fifth of the country.

Krishna described the offer as a “gesture of solidarity with the people of Pakistan in their hour of need”, a statement issued by the Indian High Commission in Islamabad had said.

Over 1,600 people have been killed and 20 million affected as raging floodwaters continue to wreak havoc in the country.

In addition to causing major human loses, it has destroyed hundreds of thousands of homes, washed away crops and livestock.

Relief and rescue work has been hit badly by continuous rains, particularly in the north western region.

The United Nations says that Pakistan will need billions of dollars to recover from the deluge, which is being described as the worst in the last 80 years. (ANI)