Minister urges UK Government to make significant aid commitment to Pakistan

A Holyrood minister has urged the UK Government to make a significant commitment from its aid budget to help Pakistan as suffers from the devastating floods which have seen hundreds dead and millions affected.

More than a third of the country has been left underwater after it suffered exceptionally heavy monsoon rains which triggered flash floods, affecting 33 million people, damaged around one million homes, and seen more than 1,000 people lose their lives.

Neil Gray, Holyrood’s international development minister, on Friday announced a £500,000 donation from the Scottish Government budget to charities involved in relief efforts.

In a letter to Pakistan’s consul general, he said Holyrood was “exploring all options for how we can support flood relief in Pakistan,” and added: “We will also urge the UK Government to commit significantly from the UK aid budget – to which the people of Scotland contribute through their taxes – to Pakistan flood relief.”

The minister added: “The Scottish Government will also work with Scotland’s Pakistani community to ensure that where we can, we can help support the efforts that the community here will be undertaking to support friends and family in Pakistan.”

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said that the “UK stands with Pakistan” as she announced a multi-million pound support package on Thursday.

“As a major humanitarian donor, we will do all we can to get life-saving aid to the most vulnerable, including through this £15 million package of support,” she said.

According to initial government estimates, the devastation has caused 10 billion dollars (£8.6 billion) of damage in Pakistan.

Pakistani officials and experts say there has been a 400% increase in average rainfall in Pakistan’s Baluchistan and Sindh areas, which led to the extreme flooding.

On Friday, authorities were warning people in the district of Dadu in the southern Sindh province to move to safer places ahead of floodwater from the swollen Indus river that is expected to hit the region this week.

Of the £500,000 of taxpayer funding being sent to help with relief efforts, Mr Gray said half will go to the Disasters Emergency Committee’s Pakistan Floods Appeal.

The remaining £250,000 will go to members of the Scottish Government’s Humanitarian Emergency Fund Panel.

The MSP said: “Our thoughts are very much with all of the people directly affected by the floods as well as the Pakistani community in Scotland who will be worried about their families and friends in Pakistan.”

In May, some parts of Sindh were the hottest place in Pakistan. Now people are facing floods there that have caused an outbreak of waterborne diseases. Although flood waters continued to recede in most of the country, many districts in Sindh remained underwater.