UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is to fly into Pakistan on Saturday to visit areas devastated by unprecedented floods and speed up relief efforts to contain the country's worst humanitarian crisis. The United Nations has appealed for 460 million dollars, saying 175 million has already been pledged, but that billions will be needed in the long term as the country's struggles to rebuild infrastructure and replant crops.
UN officials warn that the extent of the losses to Pakistan's infrastructure and economy will put the volatile nuclear-armed country back years, as efforts focus on immediate relief and long-term reconstruction. Up to two million people require emergency shelter and six million depend on humanitarian assistance to survive, fanning widespread anger against the weak US-backed civilian government amid scenes of looting and misery on the ground.
"The UN secretary general will arrive in Islamabad late on Saturday," Pakistan foreign ministry spokesman Abdul Basit told AFP. "He will discuss relief efforts with government leaders on Sunday and visit flood-devastated areas the same day," the spokesman added.
The United States has increased its aid to 76 million dollars and US Senator John Kerry will also visit Pakistan next week to raise public awareness and drum up donations for a fractious ally where anti-US feeling runs high. The United States, which has put Pakistan on the frontline of its war on al Qaeda, has begun dispatching US Marine helicopters from an amphibious assault ship to help with relief, amid concerns over Islamist extremism.
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