Liz Truss response to Pakistan floods denounced as ‘risible’

The UK’s official response to devastating floods in Pakistan has been denounced as “risible” by parliament’s international development committee.

In a letter to foreign secretary Liz Truss, IDC chair Sarah Champion said that the support of up to £1.5m announced last week amounts to less than 5p for each person affected by extreme rainfall which has destroyed at least 700,000 homes.

Ms Champion said she was embarrassed by the “pathetically small” level of assistance offered. And she said that the decision to deduct the sum from existing support to Pakistan meant that the UK was effectively providing “nothing”.

She demanded an urgent statement on the catastrophe from Ms Truss as soon as parliament returns from its summer break on Monday.

Ms Champion said that the response to the floods reflected a policy of “sustained indifference” from Boris Johnson’s administration towards Pakistan, which has slid from first to seventh in the table of recipients of UK bilateral aid since 2019.

Foreign Office minister Lord Ahmad last week said that his “thoughts and prayers” were with the millions of people affected by floods which have reportedly submerged one-third of Pakistan’s land.

“The UK stands with the people of Pakistan during this time of need,” he said.

And Mr Johnson said on Tuesday: “Our sympathies are very much with the people of Pakistan and we’ve seen the devastation there and it’s absolutely heart-rending.

“Pakistan is traditionally one of the biggest recipients of UK overseas aid. We will of course make sure that we send a fitting package commensurate with the vital relationship that there is between the UK and Pakistan and people’s natural sympathies with those who have been affected by the floods.”

But Ms Champion told Ms Truss in her letter: “Bearing in mind the scale and effect of the flooding, I was embarrassed to read the announcement by the government on 27 August 2022 of ‘up to £1.5m from the UK’ in humanitarian funding.

“Even if the full £1.5m were delivered, it would amount to less than 5p for each person affected.

“Furthermore, that pathetically small sum will be subtracted from ‘existing support to Pakistan’. The UK government’s risible response to this humanitarian disaster arguably amounts to nothing.”

Ms Champion said that Ms Truss had failed to respond to a report published by her cross-party committee four months ago highlighting the impact of cuts in UK aid on Pakistan.

“This government has implemented a policy of sustained indifference to Pakistan,” she said.

“Historically, Pakistan was a priority country for UK development spending. Between 2015 and 2019, it was the largest single recipient of bilateral UK Official Development Assistance.

“However, UK aid funding to Pakistan has been cut dramatically. Pakistan has fallen to seventh in the list of UK bilateral aid recipients, because it experienced the largest single decrease in any country budget.”

A Foreign Office spokesperson said that Ms Champion’s letter had been received and a response would be made “in due course”.