ISLAMABAD, Sep 3 (CGTN) - Pakistan’s federal planning minister Ahsan Iqbal on Saturday called on the international community to bring an “immense humanitarian response for 33 million people” affected by the devastating floods.

Pakistan’s largest charity, the Edhi Foundation, is pleading with the government to lift a ban on several non-governmental organizations (NGO)’s so they can assist with relief efforts for the almost 33 million people affected by the catastrophic floods.

Record monsoon rains and melting glaciers have inundated 2 million acres of agricultural lands, killing at least 1,265 people, including at least 416 children, according to the National Disaster Management Authority.

Children are especially at risk of dying from water-borne diseases like cholera, dengue, malaria and diarrhea, the UN children’s agency UNICEF said Friday.

“Ninety percent of people are still awaiting any kind of assistance; the situation is serious, people are starving,” the head of the Edhi Foundation charity, Faisal Edhi, told reporters.

A third of Pakistan is currently underwater, and the waters have not yet started receding.