Canadian government extends ‘donation-matching’ for Pak floods till to October 3

TORONTO - The Canadian government has said that it will continue to match individual donations to flood-ravaged Pakistan for another three weeks.

The Stephen Harper had previously pledged 33 million dollars, in addition to the dollar-for-dollar aid, which will now be extended to October 3.

Government House Leader John Baird denied that the decision was because donations had been slow to come in.

“The scale of the humanitarian disaster warranted more time. Millions of people in Pakistan are in dire need of assistance,” The Globe and Mail quoted Baird, as saying.

“We need to keep contributing to the relief effort. We call upon Canadians’ legendary generosity to ensure help reaches those who are truly in need,” he added.

The government’s contribution goes into its own Pakistan Flood Relief Fund, which is distributed to both Canadian and international humanitarian and development organizations.

The “worst floods in Pakistan’s history”, triggered by torrential monsoon downpours in July, have claimed the lives of over 1,600 people and disrupted the lives of 20 million people, eight percent of the population.t first struck the western province of Baluchistan on July 22 before inundating the worst-hit Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and then entering Punjab and Sindh.

According to UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Pakistan has so far received 291 million dollars in aid from the international community. (ANI)