Chairperson of the Pakistani caucus in the US Congress, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee has said she will be working on attaining Temporary Protected Status for Pakistani nationals, whose thoughts and prayers to Pakistan, the US will be sending tangible aid for flood victims.
Members of the US Congress, comprising of Chairperson of the Pakistani caucus in the US Congress, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, Congressman Thomas Richard Suozzi, and US Ambassador to Pakistan, Donald Blome called on Chairman Senate Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani at Parliament House. The Senate Chairman along with Speaker National Assembly, Raja Parvez Ashraf jointly welcomed the delegation.
Speaking on the occasion, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, founder and co-chair of the Pakistan Caucus, conveyed heartfelt sentiments and condolences on the loss of precious lives due to recent rains and floods. She assured that the Parliament, Government and people of the United States of America stand in solidarity with their brethren in Pakistan during these testing times and informed that the initially announced aid will be complemented by more support and assistance from the US as the effects of floods are enormous and beyond imagination.
The Chairman Senate, Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani emphasized that US Ambassador, Mr Donald Blome should visit Balochistan and witness the havoc caused by the recent rains and floods that have badly affected the life of the local people, especially in Balochistan. The Railway tracks, Infrastructure, dams, and roads are severely affected due to flash floods and require immediate attention to bring life back to normal in Balochistan. He said that USAID and other development organizations can assess the enormity of the situation.
The US Congressional delegation, headed by Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee also met with Minister for Climate Change Sherry Rehman.
Federal Minister Sherry Rehman, while explaining the ongoing relief efforts, said: “The devastation on ground is much more than we have ever encountered even in the 2010 floods. This time, however, we are unable to find dry ground to land our helicopter sorties providing relief. We had a cataclysmic start to the year, with temperatures reaching 53 degrees in Sindh followed by heatwaves and 3 times the normal amount of GLOFs.
The South remains inundated, posing danger to human health now. “Despite
relief efforts from the government, NDMA, PDMAs and Pak Army, we are under-resourced. 33 million people have been impacted severely. We have appealed to our bilateral and multilateral partners in this time of need.” The US Congressional delegation expressed condolences and deepest regret on the loss of lives and commitment to helping Pakistan in these trying times and advocate for funding in the US.
