ISLAMABAD: Russia has expressed its willingness to provide wheat and gas to Pakistan, said Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif on Saturday, as Pakistan reels from cataclysmic floods that could trigger a food crisis in the country.
Spurred by climate change effects, floods triggered by unusually heavy rains in Pakistan have left over 1,500 people dead and damaged critical infrastructure since June 14, according to official figures.
As floods destroyed swathes of crops, agricultural experts warned of a looming food crisis at the end of the monsoon reason, stating that rains have destroyed cotton, rice, banana, onion and other crops in the country.
Earlier this week, PM Sharif attended the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. Sharif met several regional leaders during the summit, which included the presidents of China, Russia, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Iran, Azerbaijan, Belarus, and Turkey.
Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Prime Minister of Pakistan Shehbaz Sharif on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) leaders' summit in Samarkand on September 15, 2022. (AFP)
Asif was part of the prime minister’s delegation at Samarkand.
“Russia expressed [its willingness] that it can provide us wheat because in the coming days we may have shortages due to recent floods,” Asif said in a media briefing in Islamabad. “They [Russia] said that they can provide us gas. They have gas pipelines in Central Asian countries and those pipelines could be extended to Pakistan via Afghanistan,” he added.
Asif said during PM Sharif’s bilateral meetings during the summit, the presidents of China and Russia both invited Pakistan’s prime minister to visit their countries.
“Chinese President Xi has invited the prime minister and he will visit China in the first week of November,” the minister said, adding that the final dates for Sharif’s Russia visit would be decided after his visit to China.
He said President Xi Jinping extended his support to Pakistan during the event. “The Chinese president offered to help Pakistan in every situation. He expressed his wish to resume the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project with the same efficiency and passion,” Asif added.
SCO member states assured their full support to Pakistan in the wake recent climate-driven catastrophe, he said. However, the minister lamented that there were “deliberate attempts” to create political uncertainty in Pakistan.
“The world is ready to help Pakistan, especially SCO member countries but inside Pakistan, there are deliberate attempts to create political unrest which discourages those countries who want to help us in this crisis,” he added.
Asif’s statement was a veiled reference to former Prime Minister Imran Khan, who has threatened to take to the streets against the government if it doesn’t announce an election date soon. Ousted via a parliamentary vote in April, the ex-premier has refused to recognize the government and demanded early polls in the country.
In response to a question, the minister said PM Sharif would fulfil his constitutional duty by appointing a new army chief in November.
“Nawaz Sharif has fulfilled this political responsibility four times. No matter what Imran Khan says, the appointment of the army chief is a constitutional duty which the prime minister [Sharif] will fulfil in November,” he said.
Asif held Khan responsible for giving unnecessary importance to the army chief’s appointment. “Politics is separate but institutions should not be made controversial. He [Khan] just wants to make the army chief’s appointment controversial,” he added.
