Masood Khan urges int’l community to find collective solutions to dealing with the challenges of climate change

WASHINGTON, Oct 22 (SABAH): Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States Sardar Muhammad Masood Khan has urged the international community to find collective solutions to dealing with the challenges of climate change and its dire consequences for the planet.

The floods in Pakistan and the hurricane in Florida has “proved that even if you are a developed country like the United States you have the same challenges when it comes to climate change although you have better, resilient infrastructure.”

In an interview with “Dennis Wholey” for the program “This is America and The World” broadcast by the leading US media outlet ‘Public Broadcasting Service’ (PBS), the Ambassador emphasized that the countries cannot be divided into islands, assuming that one island would remain secure and the other would vulnerable to climate catastrophes.

Discussing immediate and long-term needs of Pakistan at this difficult hour of climate induced calamity, the Ambassador said that Pakistan needs massive support from the international community for rehabilitation and reconstruction.

Masood Khan suggested that debt restructuring would provide Pakistan with much needed fiscal space enabling it to allocate its resources for building climate resilient infrastructure for its people.

On Pak-US relations, Masood Khan said that two countries were pursuing a positive agenda. Pak-US relations, he said, should not be confined to strategic objectives alone. “We must strengthen our cooperation in the economic, trade, investment, energy and climate sector,” continued Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United Stated. Encouraging US investors to reap the benefits offered by Pak economy, especially in the tech sector, Masood Khan observed that “there will be exponential growth (in the sector) because of increase in human capital, tech savvy young population.”

On a question about the use of nuclear weapons, the Ambassador said that nuclear capability is acquired and designed basically for deterrence and equilibrium. The actual use of nuclear weapons could trigger a global catastrophe. He said all countries, particularly the ones having nuclear weapons, should demonstrate restraint and responsibility.