- Announces Rs15b grant for Sindh as flood relief at Sukkur Barrage
- Regrets 900 people including 300 kids lost lives and 1300 injured so far
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday said considering the urgency of the challenge, the government had decided to reach out to friendly countries and donors as flash floods and the torrential rains had badly hit around 33 million people.
The prime minister, who convened a meeting of select Islamabad-based ambassadors, high commissioners and other senior members of the diplomatic corps, to brief them on flood situation, said the ongoing monsoon spell has caused unprecedented damage and devastation in Pakistan.
He said that not just Balochistan, Sindh and South Punjab, which were badly affected, the current spell of torrential rains had led to flooding in the northern regions of the KPK province.
He said that more than 900 people including 300 children had lost their lives and 1300 were injured, so far.
PM taking briefing from Chairman NDMA on rescue and relief activities in Sukkur pic.twitter.com/TSoRTBOCbs
— Marriyum Aurangzeb (@Marriyum_A) August 26, 2022
He said that as per the initial damage assessment, the losses caused by the floods were comparable to those Pakistan suffered during the flash floods of 2010-11.
The meeting was attended by ambassadors and high commissioners of Australia, Canada, China, Japan, Kuwait, UAE, Turkiye, South Korea, USA, Germany and senior diplomats of Bahrain, European Union, France, Oman, Qatar, UK, and Saudi Arabia. The country representative of World Food Programme was also present.
The prime minister underlined that 33 million people had been badly affected by the flash floods and torrential rainfalls.
While expressing his government’s firm resolve to overcome the deleterious impacts of the ongoing floods in the country, Shehbaz Sharif highlighted that he had already issued instructions to the federal and provincial governments to provide people with tents, drinking water, mosquito nets, food items, medicines and other equipment.
He said that Pakistan’s carbon emission footprint was negligible but it was ranked at the 8th position among the countries exposed to the horrors of climate change.
Noting that the climate change has made flooding worse, the prime minister emphasized rehabilitation and reconstruction of climate resilient infrastructure in Pakistan.
The prime minister mentioned that given the urgency of the challenge, the government had decided to reach out to the friendly countries, donors and the international financial institutions for their continued cooperation at this difficult time.
The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and the Economic Affairs Division gave briefings about the current status of the flood situation including rescue, and relief efforts as well as the need for immediate assistance.
The Foreign Office and NDMA are closely working with the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Islamabad to launch a UN Flash Appeal on August 30.
Speaking on the occasion, foreign diplomats expressed condolences and sympathies to the people and the government of Pakistan on the loss of precious lives and damage to infrastructure in the floods.
They assured the Government of Pakistan of their respective governments’ continued support to meet the requirements of the rescue and relief operations across the country.
Minister for Climate Change Sherry Rehman, Minister for Economic Affairs Division SardarAyazSadiq, Minister for Finance Miftah Ismail, Minister for Information Marriyum Aurangzeb, Minister for Planning and Development AhsanIqbal, Adviser to Prime Minister AhadCheema, SAPMs Syed Tariq Fatemi and Fahd Husain and other senior officials of the government attended the meeting.
RS15 BLN GRANT FOR SINDH AS FLOOD RELIEF
The federal government will provide a grant of Rs15 billion to the Sindh government to overcome the heavy losses of lives and infrastructure in the wake of the massive destruction caused by flash floods.
Talking to reporters flanked by Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah and federal ministers including Bilawal Bhutto and Syed Khurshid Shah here at Sukkur Barrage, the prime minister said the situation demanded rising above politics and helping the flood victims overcome their miseries.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who earlier took an aerial view of the inundated areas of Sukkur, Rohri, Khairpur, FaizGanj, KotDiji, and Thari Mir Wah, expressed serious concern over the loss of lives and infrastructure caused by the floods.
Shehbaz said the grant by the federal government would help the Sindh government carry out relief and rehabilitation activities.
He said the coalition government would make collective efforts to alleviate the sufferings of the flood victims, adding that it would leave no stone unturned to facilitate the people who faced unprecedented loss in the wake of floods.
He mentioned that over 900 people died due to floods in the last few months, while the situation incurred a heavy toll on crops and livestock as well.
He directed the relief and rescue staff to be available round-the-clock on duties to help the flood victims.
He announced the disbursement of Rs 25,000 per household through Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) starting Friday and onwards and said in one week, around Rs 28 billion would be given to the affected people.
Also, medical camps are on the alert to extend treatment to patients in the flood-hit areas, he added.
He said Nestle Pakistan had donated 100 tonnes of clean drinking water, of which 80 tonnes and 20 tonnes were to be supplied to the flood victims of Sindh and Balochistan, respectively.
The prime minister mentioned holding a meeting with envoys of various countries this morning, where he urged them to provide assistance to Pakistan in the hour of need.
He said a joint survey was being conducted by the departments of federal and provincial governments to assess the damages.
PM Sharif lauded Chief Minister Sindh Murad Ali Shah for helping the flood-affected people across the province.
He mentioned that he talked to the army and naval chiefs who assured full support in carrying out relief and rescue operations.
The prime minister said the grid stations in the flood-hit areas would be again switched on after taking necessary measures. The power stations, after getting submerged in water, had been turned off keeping in view to avert the incidents of electrocution of people.
He instructed the Federal Minister for Power to remain available in Sindh to oversee the activities.
Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah urged the media to properly highlight the plight of the flood-affected people so as to apprise the international donor agencies about the true picture of devastation.
Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said the moment was a test for all political parties of Pakistan to help the people of the country in this hour of need.
He thanked the prime minister for his announcement regarding the disbursement of compensation money to flood victims through BISP.
He said presently, tents were the most needed commodity and appealed to the philanthropists to come forward for contribution.
JamiatUlema-e-Islam’s General Secretary Sindh chapter Rashid MehmoodSoomro stressed joint efforts of the federal and provincial governments besides the private sector to help the flood victims.
The district administration of Sukkur and the representatives of the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) briefed the prime minister about the ongoing work for the relief of the flood-stricken people and the rehabilitation of the infrastructure.
The prime minister was apprised that several flood-hit areas faced unavailability of communication services after severe damage to infrastructure in urban and rural areas.
It was told that 43 food relief camps had been set up in Sindh where the people were being given food and medicines.
In an interaction with the flood-affected people, the prime minister assured to make all-out efforts for their facilitation.
