Pakistan PM Gilani calls for consensus meeting on flood relief

Islamabad: Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said on Saturday he would convene a conference of all political parties on the flood havoc in the country for evolving a consensus strategy for rehabilitation of millions of uprooted families.

Speaking in the National Assembly he said a schedule for the conference would be set in consultation with the parties.

Gilani reiterated that foreign and domestic financial assistance for flood victims would be disbursed to provinces equitably and transparent utilisation of funds would be ensured.

A meeting of the Council of Common Interest convened by him will be held on Monday in Islamabad to decide a mechanism for distribution of assistance with consensus of all provinces whose chief ministers would attend the deliberations.

He informed the National Assembly that up to now rupees four billion had been contributed to the Prime Minister's Flood Relief Fund.

Financial assistance of $1.3 billion had been announced by the international community so far, he said, adding that 80 per cent of this amount would be spent through the United Nations and NGOs and 20 per cent through the Pakistan government.

He said foreign countries had sent 137 planeloads of relief goods till now for flood-hit people and this was being provided to all the affected areas across the country.

Gilani announced that he and his cabinet would spend Eid marking the end of the fasting month of Ramadan with flood affected people to share their miseries and assure them that they would be rehabilitated.

He said the country incurred losses of six billion dollars due to the five-week floods that affected around 20 million people and destroyed millions of hectares of farmland, besides vast infrastructure damage.

"We need to work with complete unity for the country's recovery from the huge devastation," he said.