MOSQUES in Oxfordshire are banding together to raise money for victims of the Pakistan flood disaster.

At prayers tomorrow special appeals will be made at mosques around the city to urge people to donate what they can.

Saj Malik, county councillor for East Oxford and city councillor for Cowley Marsh, said it was important that people understood the scale of the disaster.

He said: “Muslims in Oxford have already generously donated £2,000, but this is a continuous appeal.

“It is a mega-disaster in the history of Pakistan, and in the history of the world, so we need a mega-response from people to it.”

Since the heavy rainfall two weeks ago, an estimated 2,000 people have died with nearly 14 million more affected by the flooding.

Mr Malik said there were an estimated 10,000 people of Pakistani origin living in Oxfordshire, many of whom would have family in the stricken areas.

Mr Malik’s own family has been affected. His two brothers, Jamil and Aqeel, live in the town of Kot Mithen, in the district of Rajanpur.

Although not under water itself, Mr Malik said the town was one of many that needed help because of the flooded surrounding villages.

He said: “I speak to my brothers and they tell me that thousands of people are just sleeping on the main road in the town.

“It makes you cry to see them – there are women giving birth on the streets, and people sleeping rough, from the young to the very old.”

Mr Malik said it was similar to a situation where all the towns and villages around Oxford were under water and needed help.

He said: “Think of the whole population of the county coming into Oxford to sleep on the streets because they had nowhere else to go. Think of the damage it would do.”

The money donated to Mr Malik will be sent to Shaquat Quershi, an Oxford-based businessman who is in Nowshera, Pakistan, already helping those in need.

Mr Malik said: “Every penny donated here will go directly to victims in the Rajanpur district – it may give them clean water or rations, whatever they need.”

Last year, Oxford mosques raised £9,000 to buy an ambulance to help people in Gaza, and Mr Quershi was one of several volunteers who drove it to the region.

Lutuf Rahman, chairman of the Bangladesh Mosque in Cowley Road, which will be appealing for money tomorrow, said: “We will be doing whatever we can to help.”

The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) Pakistan Floods Appeal launched a week ago has received more than £9.5m in public donations.

DEC agencies, including Oxfam, have now distributed aid to more than 500,000 people affected, but more money is desperately needed.

Call 0370 606 0900, go to dec.org.uk, or donate over the counter at any post office or high street bank. You can also donate £5 by texting the word GIVE to 70707.

To donate, email Mr Malik at sajjad.malik@oxfordshire.gov.uk or visit one of the mosques tomorrow