United Kingdom (UK) Member of Parliament (MP) Claudia Webbe has called on the international community to cancel Pakistan’s debt as the country’s inflation hits the highest level since 1973.
In a statement on Twitter, Webbe said, “Inflation in Pakistan is at an all-time high at 27 per cent! Pakistan’s international debt should be immediately cancelled – they should instead be given reparations for the climate crisis caused.”
According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), Pakistan’s Consumer Price Index-based inflation (CPI) climbed by 27.3 per cent on a year-over-year basis in August 2022.
Prior to this statement, she repeatedly urged foreign countries to stand shoulder to shoulder in full solidarity with Pakistan and termed the silence from western countries a “moral crime”.
“We need a global climate tax so that the global rich can be made to pay for the climate damage they cause in the world,” she said.
She also blamed rich countries for the climate crisis and said that they should bear the cost, not Pakistan, as the country is responsible for 1 per cent of global emissions.
On her official Twitter account, she also shared videos of the devasting floods in Pakistan.
Water levels continued to rise on Friday as the overall death toll from the devastating floods has crossed 1,200.
On Thursday, the UK announced an additional £15 million of lifesaving support for flood victims in Pakistan.
More than 33 million people are affected — one in every seven Pakistanis — and reconstruction work will cost more than $10 billion.
United Nations (UN) chief Antonio Guterres called the floods a “climate catastrophe” and launched an appeal for $160 million in emergency funding. Meanwhile, western countries have also donated millions of dollars to Pakistan.
