With many still marooned in flood-affected regions of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and a significant number of people airlifted to safety on Sunday, the prime minister and the army chief made an attempt to bring a healing touch for a nation in grief.
Shehbaz Sharif announced a grant of Rs10 billion for Balochistan to cope with the destruction caused by floods and Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa spent the day with troops carrying out relief operations in Sindh.
The premier announced the relief package during a day-long trip to the flood-hit areas of Nasirabad division, including Haji Allah Dine village where he interacted with the affected people and assured them that the government would help rehabilitate all the flood victims.
Talking to the media after the visit, he said he had never witnessed a destruction of this magnitude in his life. “The devastation caused by floods and persistent rains is horrifying,” PM Sharif observed. He said the impact of natural calamities could not be overcome just by sloganeering, making statements and levelling allegations.
Mir Jan Mohammad Khan Jamali, the acting Governor of Balochistan, Chief Minister Mir Abdul Qudoos Bizenjo, provincial ministers, Chief Secretary Abdul Aziz Uqaili and officials of the NDMA and PDMA were present on the occasion.
Mr Sharif underlined the need for working hard and shedding sweat and blood to overcome the flood havoc across the country. He regretted that “false statements” by certain political figures would not mislead the nation.
He called upon the rich to support the flood-affected people with generous donations. He said during an aerial view he had seen huge chunks of land inundated by torrents, and likened the phenomenon to an overflowing ocean.
“In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, downpours led to swollen rivers and water channels in Swat and Kalam, sweeping away hotels and homes within the blink of an eye,” he said, adding that hundreds of people lost their lives and crops were damaged.
The prime minister said the federal government was providing Rs25,000 each to flood-affected families out of an allocated grant of Rs38bn through the NDMA and Benazir Income Support Programme.
In Sindh, he said, he had already announced a grant of Rs15bn.
PM Sharif said he had directed the federal energy minister to supervise restoration of power supply in the affected areas. He said he would preside over a meeting in Islamabad to review the situation and take further decisions.
Earlier, the chief secretary informed the prime minister that 20 districts in Balochistan were badly affected by floods and about 1.3 million people had braced themselves for the worst.
He said that about 65,000 houses were completely destroyed and the Quetta-Sukkur road link was cut off due to collapse of bridges. “A total of 25 small dams in the province were breached and 78 others had developed cracks,” he said.
Earlier, the prime minister took an aerial view of flood-hit areas of Sindh and Balochistan and participated in the aerial relief support operation in the affected areas.
