It is heartening to note that the country has received pledges of more than $ 9 billion at an international conference seeking support for its recovery from last year’s devastating floods. According to Hina Rabbani Khar, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs: “The message from the world is clear: the world will stand by those who go through any natural calamities and will not leave them alone.”

That the world has shown the much-needed empathy is a fact. These pledges are expected to translate into firm actions in the near future. These will help restore investor confidence and ease pressure on country’s beleaguered foreign exchange reserves. The world seems to have fully appreciated the gravity of the human misery. The pledges made by the world is a strong case in point. Prime minister Shehbaz Sharif has ably presented the country’s case at the Geneva moot.

He therefore deserves praise. But the United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres deserves more praise for the role he has been playing in attracting global attention to the plight of Pakistan. In my view, he deserves Pakistan’s highest civilian award for his glorious contributions that he has been painstakingly making since torrential rains and flash floods wreaked havoc across Pakistan on an unprecedented scale last year.

Nadeem Raza (Islamabad)

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023