Over £200,000 for Pakistan flood victims raised by London professionals

• Event was attended by over 250 professionals who donated to charitable cause.
• Event organiser says money will be spent in Pakistan through partner charities of Disaster Emergency Committee.
• Parliamentarians from Labour and Conservative parties were also in attendance.

LONDON: A group of British-Pakistani professionals working in London have raised over £200,000 to help victims of the recent floods in Pakistan.

The event at an east London restaurant was attended by over 250 professionals including lawyers, judges, accountants, and businessmen who donated to the charitable cause. 

The initiative was spearheaded by the city lawyer Faria Ali who brought together international law and accountancy firms, from across the city of London, for the fundraiser.

Parliamentarians in attendance from the Labour and Conservative parties included Nusrat Ghani, Afzal Khan, Yasmin Qureshi, Naz Shah and Rushanara Ali. Circuit Judge Amjad Nawaz, Circuit Judge Azmat Nisa, Deputy Senior District Judge Tan Ikram and others, who stressed the need for participation in the flood relief efforts.

The participants also heard first-hand accounts from Tufail Hussain, the UK Director of Islamic Relief, and Sky News journalist Saima Mohsin, who were in Sindh recently to report on the destruction caused by the floods.

Faria, who organised the event, commented: "I'm very grateful to all of the firms and individuals that have rallied around to raise funds for those affected by the floods in Pakistan. To date, £200,000 has been raised and we're hoping to push on with this in the coming weeks and months to support longer-term recovery efforts. We are also exploring ways in which we can support the implementation of sustainable, preventative changes to prevent loss of lives and livelihoods going forwards.”

Faria said the money will be spent in Pakistan through partner charities of the Disaster Emergency Committee.

Saima and Tufail told the audience they were shocked to see whole towns and cities submerged under the floodwater in Sindh as far as one could see.

“What I saw in Sindh was unimaginable and I have never seen anything like this. There was water everywhere. What used to be settled communities of people were turned into a sea of turbid water. We saw water all over and millions of people in a completely helpless situation," said Saima. 

MP Naz Shah, MP Yasmeen Qureshi, and MP Afzal Khan also spoke to the audience and stressed the need for an increase in aid for Pakistan from the UK government.