By Makhdoom Shehryar Babar
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday announced a Rs10 billion grant for Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) as he visited the flood-hit areas of Kanju in District Swat to review the rescue efforts underway.
While speaking to the media during his visit, the premier said that K-P and Balochistan will get a grant of Rs10 billion each while the federal government will provide Rs15 billion to Sindh for rehabilitation and relief efforts after floods wreaked havoc across Pakistan.
The death toll from the devastating floods soared to 1,191 on Wednesday as flood waters which came from the north began to breach banks and affected more than a million people in Sindh’s Dadu district.
According to the daily report by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), more than 3,500 people have been injured so far since June 14. Around 87 people were injured while 27 were killed during the past 24 hours.
Moreover, he said that the government is also giving Rs25,000 to each family affected by the catastrophe, while those families who have lost loved ones will be getting Rs1 million each.
He further assured that the money will be distributed in a transparent manner and put to good use, through the help of NDMA and Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA).
He went on to thank the international community for stepping up to help Pakistan in its time of need and for providing the resources necessary to provide relief to the flood victims.
“Presidents of Turkey, UAE and Iran have vowed to help Pakistan in whatever way possible,” he informed. “Flights containing relief goods from the UAE and Turkey have arrived,” he said, adding that these goods are being distributed by the PDMA and NDMA.
He also thanked the United Nations for launching a ‘Flash Appeal’ of $160million for Pakistan, assuring that he will personally ensure that the money is put to good use.
During his visit to Kalam, the premier directed relevant authorities to evacuate tourists immediately. He was briefed that six helicopters of the Pakistan Army were currently being used to save tourists and bring them to safer destinations, while as many as 700 tourists were still left and are expected to be rescued by Thursday.
The Prime Minister directed expediting the operation of shifting the people to safe areas. He arrived in Swat to review the losses and rescue, relief and rehabilitation efforts. PM Shehbaz also directed the Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) to restore the damaged roads on an emergency basis.
The Prime Minister also visited the flood-hit areas of Pattan and Lower Kohistan earlier in the day. Speaking to the media, he expressed his condolences to families who lost loved ones in the recent flooding and assured them that the federal government is standing with those affected during this time of turmoil.
“I assure you the government, the NDMA, PDMA and the provincial authorities will be with you day and night until everyone has a roof over their heads,” he said.
“We will give Rs25,000 compensation to all those affected and Rs1 million to those who have lost a loved one, and for those whose, houses and crops have been destroyed and have lost their cattle, we will give you as many resources as we can,” he added. The premier reiterated that the funds coming into the country through the international community will be distributed as ‘transparently’ as possible.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif thanked the US government for its $30m financial assistance announced a day ago. “The tragedy is massive with millions of people gravely affected and we need our friends around the globe to help the suffering humanity,” he said. PM also thanked Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his condolences on the recent floods.
Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari also visited flood-hit areas of Sindh, KP and Balochistan with diplomats from more than 20 countries and representatives of international organizations, the Foreign Office (FO) said in a statement.
The FO said diplomats from Turkmenistan, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Azerbaijan, Germany, Spain, United States, China, France, Japan, Italy, South Korea, Qatar and Turkey were among those in the delegation.
Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah and Water Minister Khursheed Shah welcomed the delegation at Sukkur airport. The NDMA also briefed the foreign officials regarding the floods.
