National Assembly Standing Committee on Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit Baltistan on Thursday expressed annoyance over the provision of meagre compensation to the victims of devastating rains and floods in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan. The committee, which was presided over by MNA Malik Ibrar Ahmed, directed the Secretary AJ&K to advise the AJ&K government to enhance the amount of compensation and bring it at par with other provinces.
MNAs Malik Abdul Ghaffar Dogar, Junaid Akbar, Sardar Mumtaz Khan, Shams-un-Nisa, Syed Waseem Hussain, Molvi Agha Muhammad and other officials also attended the meeting. The committee appreciated quick response of the respective government agencies, including, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), during the recent devastating rains and floods in different areas of AJ&K and GB. The committee also reviewed rescue, relief and rehabilitation work carried out by the provincial governments following the torrential rains and land sliding in AJ&K and GB during the months of March and April 2016.
Speaking on the occasion, Chaudhry Muhammad Barjees Tahir, Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan, said that the management and maintenance of the AJ&K properties in Pakistan had been improved to a great extent but there was some litigation issues being faced by the Ministry, which had hampered the progress of renovation.
Secretary, Ministry of Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan, Abid Saeed, also gave briefing about relief and rehabilitation activities in the flood-affected areas. Tahir Hussain, Chief Secretary, GB, and Secretary, State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA), AJ&K, Zaheer-ud-Din Qureshi, also gave a detailed presentation to the committee. The representative of NDMA told the committee about strategic planning and preparedness of the department in case of any eventuality of such nature.