ISLAMABAD: The massive floods in Pakistan are likely to reduce its GDP by over 2 percentage points and the government is grappling with the immediate challenge of averting imminent food insecurity in the country, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said.
During a telephonic conversation with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday to express gratitude for extending humanitarian relief assistance to Pakistan, Sharif said the ongoing floods have devastated millions of acres of standing crops, houses and critical infrastructure in the country, according to an official statement.
The prime minister said as per initial estimates, the floods are likely to reduce Pakistan's GDP by over 2 percentage points.
"Pakistan is grappling with the immediate challenge of averting imminent food insecurity in the country as well as providing for rescue and rehabilitation of the victims of this climate-induced calamity," Sharif told Erdogan.
He said the government is fighting to avoid food shortages due to the destruction of crops in the wake of the historic floods.
The current floods triggered by monsoon rains have so far killed nearly 1,400 people and injured another 12,728, while damaging 6,674 km of road and destroying over 1.7 million houses.