WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Thursday renewed his call for urgent debt relief and aid to help Pakistan meet the unprecedented challenges posed by climate-induced flooding and said said the estimated flood damage could exceed $30 billion.
At a press conference in Washington, the Foreign Secretary said the main purpose of his visit to America was to get help for flood victims in Pakistan.
Speaking about the economic crisis, he criticized the President of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Imran Khan, for causing serious damage to Pakistan’s foreign policy and economy.
He said it would be an injustice if Asad Majeeb, Pakistan’s former ambassador to the United States, was punished for the mistakes of the PTI chairman.
Further lashing out at the PTI chairman, he added that Asad Majeed, who is currently the ambassador to Belgium and the EU, is doing his job well, while the illegal work has been done by Imran Khan.
He said Pakistan’s relations with the United States have improved. There is a big difference between six months ago and Pakistan today.
Bilawal explained that efforts were already being made to control Pakistan’s economic crisis which he said was the result of the incompetence of the previous government. He said that the incumbent government had recently reached an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and that the country had been hit by a catastrophic situation.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, while stressing the extent of the damage in the disaster areas, added that all that is done for the victims is not enough. The government and the opposition must work together for this purpose.
He also expressed his gratitude to the international community for all the support and assistance.