News
Wednesday, September 01, 2010
Zardari vows to convert disaster to opportunity* President says determined to re-build entire damaged infrastructure
KARACHI: Pakistan would convert the disaster caused by the floods, with help of its people and the international community, into an opportunity, President Asif Ali Zardari said on Tuesday.
Talking to editors of Sindhi newspapers and TV channels at the CM’s House, he said the efforts to restore normalcy would be long drawn, and would take at least two to three years.
“We have launched an international appeal and the response is very encouraging. We are determined to rebuild the entire damaged infrastructure,” he added.
“We’ll build them,” President Zardari said about the houses, which had been damaged by the floods. “We will use the latest technology to make bricks and buildings blocks.” Separately, Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) Secretary General Dr Ekmeledin Ihsanoglu, on Tuesday called on President Zardari at the CM’s House and said the organisation aimed to establish an ‘Emergency Fund for Natural Disaster’ to help victims of natural disasters in Islamic nations.
Ihsanoglu added that the OIC will also allocate funds for Pakistani flood victims during the organisation’s next meeting and the OIC had already mobilised pledges for $1 billion. Meanwhile, the president also held a meeting with representatives of rice growers and cotton ginning millers at the CM’s House, and discussed the extent of damage to rice and cotton crop, and examine ways to recover the lost ground. app
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk