09-21-2010, 11:49 AM
UNITED NATIONS: Pakistan will use international aid for 21 million flood victims efficiently and transparently, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said on Sunday after a meeting of world diplomats on flood crisis. Qureshi promised that “every dollar will be spent in the most efficient... transparent and accountable manner”. He said economic reforms were being undertaken to raise more money from within the country to fund reconstruction. The foreign minister said the world community should multiply the impact of Hurricane Katrina in the United States in 2005 by 100 times to understand the scope of the devastation. He reaffirmed Pakistan’s resolve to press ahead with economic reforms despite the staggering flood recovery costs and said it will devise a comprehensive plan for reconstruction in the flood zones. “We will rebuild our country – it will take three to five years to rebuild the devastated areas,” he said.