[Dawn] Vice President Joe Foreign Policy Whiz KidBiden and visiting British Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg on Thursday pledged their countries' "sustained long-term" support to Pak flood victims.
Meeting for the first time here since Britain's Conservative-Liberal Democrats coalition was formed in May, the two said their governments were "committed to ensuring the most effective possible international response to Pakistain's ongoing flood disaster."
"We're talking years and years of boodle here!"
In the wake of devastating monsoon rains that have left some 10 million Paks homeless, "the US and the UK affirm their commitment to sustained long-term post-flood reconstruction in Pakistain, beyond the immediate humanitarian needs," they added. "Stability in Pakistain... is vital for the stability of the region and for security in the wider world," they said.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Friday called the floods in Pakistain "the worst natural disaster the United Nations, aka the Oyster Bay Chowder and Marching Society has responded to in its 65-year history." Ban requested a record two billion dollar international aid effort for the Asian country four times his initial request.