Joint flood relief efforts: Planning minister urges CMs, AJK PM to devise plan

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal wrote letters to the chief ministers of Balochistan, Sindh, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, Gilgit-Baltistan, and the prime minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and asked them to devise a plan for the joint flood relief efforts.

The minister also directed the relevant stakeholders to expedite the relief assistance to the people particularly, to the affected people of Balochistan.

He also directed the concerned stakeholders to establish call centers to address the problems of the affected people. He said that public representatives should be contacted to assess the damage and flood situation.

The minister issued these directions while chairing an emergency meeting on Wednesday to monitor the flood situation in the country particularly, in Balochistan which is the most-affected province.

The meeting was attended by the chairman National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), chairman National Highways Authority NHA, Members National Assembly from Balochistan, and heads of provincial disaster management authorities

During the meeting, the minister was given a detailed briefing about the recent flood situation in the country particularly in Balochistan.

The minister directed the NHA to ensure the restoration of highways which were badly affected due to flood so relief arrangements could not be disturbed further. Similarly, the minister directed Sparco to carry out an aerial inspection to assess the flood situation in Sindh.

It is noted that the federal government had already declared an emergency situation in the flood-affected areas. The provincial governments had also been directed to declare them as calamity-hit areas so that relief and rehabilitation efforts could be expedited.

The minister also directed the concerned stakeholders to ensure the disbursement of cash to the affected people through Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP). He said that Pakistan is facing an unprecedented calamity and despite the limited resources the incumbent government is making all-out efforts to support the flood-affected people and for their rehabilitation.

Later, the minister held a separate emergency meeting with the Members of the National Assembly belonging to Balochistan and inquired about the latest flood situation in Balochistan.

The minister said that MNAs from Balochistan can better highlight the situation which will help the concerned stakeholders to address the issues.

The government stands with the people of Balochistan in this difficult time as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is continuously getting updates on the flood, said the minister.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022