ISLAMABAD: On Friday, Antonio Guterres, the secretary general of the United Nations, suggested organizing a donor conference to aid Pakistan in its recovery from a flood and encouraged the international community to provide relief "as a matter of justice rather than compassion."

At a press conference held at the Foreign Office, the secretary general stated, "We have discussed today the possibility of organizing a conference, and we are ready to organize it together with the Pakistani government, of course, this is a decision for the Pakistani government to take as soon as there is a clear assessment of the needs.
Mr. Guterres is in Pakistan for a two-day "solidarity tour" in the wake of massive flooding attributed to climate change that buried one-third of the nation and impacted close to 33 million people. So far, 1,400 individuals have died, with children making up around a third of those casualties.

The floodwaters that also caused severe damage to highways and bridges carried away hundreds of thousands of homes, acres of standing crops, and livestock heads.

More than 500,000 individuals have been forced to relocate. They have moved into aid tents in large numbers.
On August 30, the UN has started a $160 million Flash Appeal to support those who were most in need right now.
According to Mr. Guterres, the Flash Appeal is launched to enable aid organisations to begin offering "the least support" as a first step. Although he acknowledged that there was donor fatigue, he hoped that donors would still step up in light of the unique conditions that the floods had brought about.
The needs assessment, according to the secretary general, should include expenses for mitigation and reconstruction in addition to those for relief.

A post-disaster needs assessment has already been requested by Pakistan from the World Bank, the United Nations, and the European Union.
While highlighting the necessity of outside assistance, Prime Minister Sharif stated: "Unless we get enough support in terms of relief, in terms of reconstructing our devastated infrastructure, we would be in danger.

At a press briefing at FO, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari stated that because to the scale of the task, the government was unable to offer food and shelter to everyone impacted by the floods across the nation.

Along with pleading for help, Mr. Guterres will visit some of the worst-hit districts and meet with victims and humanitarian workers to underscore the needs of those places and the suffering of the locals.