U.N. Secretary General Calls for Aid for Pakistan
- 14 years ago
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon arrives in the Punjab province of Pakistan, where he is joined by Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari as part of an effort to get a first hand look at the flood devastated country.
[Ban Ki-moon, U.N. Secretary General]:
"I have had the chance to see the tremendous destruction and profound suffering with my own eyes. It is heart-wrenching. The scale and magnitude is difficult to comprehend, beyond imagination."
As flood victims listened, the Pakistani President promised better times ahead.
[Asif Ali Zardari, Pakistani President]:
"When so much is gone, nations get the challenge to rebuild. And we shall rebuild our nation all over again."
Swollen by torrential monsoon rains, major rivers have flooded Pakistan's mountain valleys, killing up to 1,600 people and leaving two million homeless.
Later at a news conference the Secretary General called for a global response.
[Ban Ki-moon, U.N. Secretary General]:
"But I am also here to send a message to the world, these unprecedented floods demand unprecedented assistance. The flood waves must be matched with waves of global support."
Six million people in Pakistan are still in need of food and shelter. Pakistan's government, already facing a Taliban insurgency, now faces the risk of social upheaval and long-term economic pain.
[Ban Ki-moon, U.N. Secretary General]:
"I have had the chance to see the tremendous destruction and profound suffering with my own eyes. It is heart-wrenching. The scale and magnitude is difficult to comprehend, beyond imagination."
As flood victims listened, the Pakistani President promised better times ahead.
[Asif Ali Zardari, Pakistani President]:
"When so much is gone, nations get the challenge to rebuild. And we shall rebuild our nation all over again."
Swollen by torrential monsoon rains, major rivers have flooded Pakistan's mountain valleys, killing up to 1,600 people and leaving two million homeless.
Later at a news conference the Secretary General called for a global response.
[Ban Ki-moon, U.N. Secretary General]:
"But I am also here to send a message to the world, these unprecedented floods demand unprecedented assistance. The flood waves must be matched with waves of global support."
Six million people in Pakistan are still in need of food and shelter. Pakistan's government, already facing a Taliban insurgency, now faces the risk of social upheaval and long-term economic pain.