Pakistan will need to implement economic reforms and international assistance to recover from the catastrophic floods that killed over 1,500 people and destroyed millions of homes, a World Bank official said.
Martin Raiser, World Bank vice president for South Asia, said on Sunday that Pakistan is in dire need of help from the international community.
Pakistan was hit by unprecedented floods last month, triggered by heavier-than-usual monsoon rains that began in June. More than 30 million people were affected, while crops and bridges were destroyed.
Victims of heavy flooding from monsoon rains stand beside their tents at a relief camp in Dasht near Quetta, Pakistan, Sept. 16, 2022. (The Canadian Press/Arshad Butt)
Raiser said the Pakistani government must take internal measures to revive its economy as citizens were already burdened by the high cost of power.
“This is why the [authorities] are facing losses in distribution and the prices are high,” he said in an interview with local outlet Geo TV. Raiser recommended Pakistan adopt reforms in the energy sector.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that Pakistan requires “huge sums of money” to reconstruct infrastructure damaged by floods. He said that his country was not seeking a debt rescheduling but “additional funds.”
“There is a gap—and a very serious gap—which is widening by the day between our demands and what we have received,” Sharif said in an interview with the Financial Times on Oct. 19.
Flood victims gather to receive food handout in a camp, following rains and floods during the monsoon season in Sehwan, Pakistan, on Sept. 14, 2022. (Akhtar Soomro/Reuters)
Pakistan has an external debt of over $130 billion, $30 billion of which is owed to China. Pakistan has asked China to rollover its $6.3 billion debt which is due to mature in the next eight months, The Indian Express reported.
Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves stood at $7.5 billion. The economic impact of the floods is expected to reach $32.4 billion and Pakistan needs at least $16.2 billion for rebuilding of infrastructure, local outlet The News reported.
Pakistan’s Finance Minister Ishaq Dar earlier called for greater policy support from international donor agencies, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Asian Development Bank, and the World Bank.
The Asian Development Bank on Oct. 21 approved $1.5 billion in financing for Pakistan, while the IMF released $1.1 billion in funds in August as part of a $6 billion loan package signed in 2019.
The United Nations upped its initial flood appeal from $160 million to $816 million to help flood victims in Pakistan, which Secretary-General Antonio Guterres described as having been devastated by “a level of climate carnage beyond imagination.”
“Pakistan is on the verge of a public health disaster,” Guterres said in a statement on Oct. 7. He pointed out that the subsequent cholera, malaria, and dengue fever would be “far more” deadly in Pakistan than floods.
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