ISLAMABAD: The World Bank has approved $102 million for a new project aimed at expanding access to microcredit and strengthening Pakistan’s microfinance sector against climate-related shocks, the global lender said in a statement on Wednesday.

The Resilient and Accessible Microfinance (RAM) Project seeks to support nearly 1.89 million people in the country, including over 1 million women and 350,000 youth, primarily in rural and low-income communities.

By providing funds to microfinance institutions, the project aims to ensure continued financial services for vulnerable populations, especially in times of economic and climate-induced disruptions.

“Microfinance is a critical tool for supporting the livelihoods of vulnerable populations in Pakistan,” the statement quoted World Bank Country Director Najy Benhassine as saying. “This project will help strengthen the resilience of the microfinance sector, particularly in the face of growing climate risks, ensuring that the sector can continue to provide essential financial services to those who need them most, especially in rural areas.”

He said the project was part of the World Bank’s broader commitment to promoting financial inclusion in Pakistan and enhancing resilience to climate change, as outlined in its 10-year Country Partnership Framework.

The RAM Project will focus on expanding access to microcredit, particularly through “recovery loans” for individuals and small businesses seeking financial stability after climate-related disasters.

“The project has been designed based on lessons learned from the devastating floods of 2022 and is a significant step to bolster financial inclusion in Pakistan,” said Namoos Zaheer, Task Team Leader for the project. “It will enhance economic empowerment and resilience of those at the bottom of the economic pyramid, particularly women, small farmers and families in rural areas who are more prone to climate shocks.”

The initiative, to be implemented by Pakistan’s Ministry of Finance through the State Bank of Pakistan, will include the establishment of a Climate Risk Fund, innovative use of agrotechnology solutions, capacity building for microfinance institutions and risk management frameworks to strengthen the sector’s resilience.

Pakistan has been a World Bank member since 1950 and has received more than $48.3 billion in assistance over the years.

The bank’s current portfolio in the country includes 54 projects totaling $15.7 billion.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s top diplomat at the United Nations on Tuesday criticized Israel’s “extremist leaders” for continuing the war in Gaza for their own political survival, as fresh Israeli airstrikes killed about 400 people, threatening to unravel a fragile ceasefire.
Addressing a UN Security Council briefing on the humanitarian situation in Gaza, Ambassador Munir Akram accused Israel of systematically eroding the ceasefire agreement reached in January and called for an end to its “slaughter” of the Palestinian people.
The ceasefire agreement was reached on January 15 following more than a year of Israeli airstrikes that flattened much of Gaza’s infrastructure, including schools, hospitals and residential neighborhoods.
In the weeks that followed, Hamas, which governs the enclave, returned several batches of Israeli hostages taken at the start of the war, and the international community began to discuss reconstruction plans for the war-ravaged territory.
“The agreement of 15th January for a ceasefire, for a three-phase ceasefire, offered a sliver of hope for the Palestinian people, for the Israeli people, and for the world community,” Akram said. “The Arab and OIC [Organization of Islamic Cooperation] reconstruction and peace plan was under consideration in capitals. It offered a road to peace.”
“But obviously, this glimmer of hope and hope for peace was not to the liking of the extremist leaders who rule Israel today,” he continued. “They see their survival in the continuation of the war.”
Akram said Israeli was guilty of violating every article of international law, urging the world community to respond with justice or risk the world order’s regression “into the barbarism from which the Charter of the United Nations was supposed to rescue us.”
Akram highlighted Israel’s deliberate efforts to dismantle the ceasefire agreement, starting with the imposition of a humanitarian blockade of Gaza. This, he said, was followed by restrictions on Palestinian Muslims from accessing Al-Aqsa Mosque during the holy month of Ramadan.
“These are all tactics of the oppressor,” he maintained. “And now, they have escalated to blatantly violate the ceasefire and resume attacks against the helpless Palestinians in Gaza who were just returning to rebuild their homes.”
The Pakistani envoy called for the resumption of humanitarian aid to the Palestinian enclave and the need for a revival of negotiations leading to a two-state solution, with an independent Palestinian state along pre-1967 borders and East Jerusalem as its capital.
“The upcoming June conference, co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia, is an important opportunity for the peaceful resolution of the Palestinian question and the implementation of the two-state solution,” he said, adding that “to realize the possibility of peace, Israel’s aggression, its attacks and its slaughter of the Palestinians must stop.”