Zimbabwe’s Mufti Menk visits Pakistan to help flood victims

ISLAMABAD: Zimbabwe’s renowned religious scholar Ismail ibn Musa Menk has arrived in Pakistan to lend a helping hand to the flood afeectees.

Sharing the videos of flood victims and the inundated areas on his Instagram account, Mufti Menk said that he visited Pakistan with just one intention: to reach out by delivering some aid and creating further awareness about the plight of the millions who've been affected by the devastating floods.

He noted that the situation is "unimaginable".

He called on the people to donate as much as possible to cushion the plight of the people.

"Please do whatever you can with any reliable charity or partner for those affected. We will have to assist for the next few YEARS," Menk said, as Pakistan moves towards the rehabilitation of the flood-hit people.

"Please forgive me for not being able to entertain any unrelated meetings, visits or invitations. I made no exceptions," he added.

It is pertinent to mention here that hundreds of thousands of people who have been displaced are living in the open, exposing them to diseases spread in the stagnant waters. They are in dire need of food, shelter, clean drinking water, toilets and medicines, authorities have said.

Record monsoon rains and glacial melt in northern Pakistan triggered the flooding that has impacted nearly 33 million people in the South Asian nation of 220 million, sweeping away homes, crops, bridges, roads and livestock in damages estimated at $30 billion.

As per the National Disaster Management Authority's (NDMA) latest report, the death toll from the deluge has touched 1,559, including 551 children and 318 women, which does not include the deaths from the diseases contracted from the floods.