• Ahsan Iqbal while speaking at the release ceremony of the estimated report on post-disaster needs in the context of floods.
• Federal Minister said that the rate of inflation increased due to the actions of the previous government as they   violated the IMF agreement.
• He said Pakistan is going through difficult situation due to floods and it is not possible to follow the IMF conditions.

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal has requested the International Monetary Fund(IMF) to review the strict conditions that have been set for Pakistan as country is going through difficult time after flood .

Ahsan Iqbal while speaking at the release ceremony of the estimated report on post-disaster needs in the context of floods, said that when PDM came to the government, the country’s economy was on the path of destruction. He said that the rate of inflation increased due to the actions of the previous government as they violated the IMF agreement.

He said that due to the flood, poverty further increased in the poor districts, and the poor people who were barely surviving were further destroyed by the flood. He said dengue, malaria, and other epidemics are likely to break out after the floods. He said the government is trying to cope with the ravages of the floods with limited resources.

Ahsan Iqbal said that during the flood, the Pakistani forces actively participated in the relief operations while Rs 75 billion were distributed among the flood victims.

Federal Minister said, “I request the IMF to review the strict conditions that have been set as Pakistan is going through difficult situation due to floods, it is not possible to follow the IMF conditions in these difficult  situation.”

On the other hand, Federal Minister for Climate Change Sherry Rehman also addressed the ceremony and said that the flood caused a lot of damage. She said it was the biggest disaster of the century.

She said that there is no country in which 33 million people have been displaced and the purpose of today’s event is to rehabilitate the flood victims.

She said Pakistan is grateful to all the organizations that have helped with the floods, and Pakistan has to plan effectively to deal with incidents like floods.

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Minister for Economic Affairs Division Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, officials from various embassies including the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, and UNDP were also present.