Pakistan unsure flood aid conference to translate into funds

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistani officials were increasingly concerned Thursday whether next week's U.N.-backed conference will succeed in raising the billions of dollars needed to help survivors and launch reconstruction efforts following last summer's devastating floods.

Authorities say they need $16.3 billion, half of which will be financed from the budget. The government seeks the other half — about $8 billion — in aid donations from the international community.

The United Nations and Pakistan are jointly hosting the conference on Monday in Geneva, which had earlier been billed as a donors conference. However, as expectations of large influxes foundered, the government now says the day-long event will be used to raise the alarm about the situation in the aftermath of the deadly deluge.

Those wanting to announce pledges at the event would be welcome, said Khalil Hashmi, Pakistan's permanent representative to the U.N. He spoke at a news conference Thursday in Geneva alongside Knut Ostby, United Nations Development Program's representative in Pakistan.

The Geneva event aims to foster “solidarity" and support for the victims of the floods that killed 1,739 people and affected 33 million Pakistanis, Hashmi added.

“This is a pivotal moment for the global communities to stand with the people of Pakistan," said Ostby.

He added hopes that the conference will mobilize the international community to support a resilient recovery from the devastating floods, which also displaced 8 million people, damaged 2 million houses and washed away 13,000 kilometers of roads. At one point, a third of the country was submerged.

Earlier Thursday, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said Pakistan suffered more than $30 billion in damages in the unprecedented flooding, according to a...