PM Shehbaz announces to increase flood relief aid under BISP to Rs70bn

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday announced to increase the flood relief assistance under the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) from the existing Rs28 billion to Rs70 billion, Radio Pakistan reported.

Speaking during his visit to the relief camp set up in Qambar Shahdadkot, he said the country has witnessed unprecedented loss due to ongoing floods.

"The increase in the volume of the assistance programme has been made in view of the gross damages of infrastructure and crops in the wake of flash floods," he said.

Pakistan struggles to avert danger as floods rise, death toll tops 1,300

During the occasion, the premier mentioned that the compensation amount of Rs25,000 was also being given to each flood-affected family to help them recover their financial losses.

He said joint efforts at the national level were the need of the hour to mitigate the suffering of the flood-affected people.

PM Shehbaz appreciated the efforts and work of Sindh chief minister Syed Murad Ali Shah and federal minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari for the people of Sindh.

He also lauded the dedication and services of the armed forces that are busy in rescue and relief work all over the country.

He also appealed to all the media and other organisations to come forward and help their countrymen.

Pakistani authorities are struggling to prevent the country's biggest lake bursting its banks and inundating nearby towns after unprecedented flooding, while the disaster management agency on Monday raised its toll of flood deaths by another 24.

Record monsoon rains and melting glaciers in Pakistan's northern mountains have brought floods that have affected 33 million people and killed at least 1,314, including 458 children, Pakistan's National Disaster Management Agency said.

The floods have followed record-breaking summer temperatures and the government and the United Nations have both blamed climate change for the extreme weather and the devastation it has brought.