ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday pledged the federal government’s full support for flood-affected communities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan, and Azad Jammu and Kashmir. He announced that members of the federal cabinet would donate one month’s salary to aid relief and rehabilitation efforts.
Chairing a high-level meeting to review ongoing operations, the prime minister directed federal institutions to intensify support for rain and flood-hit people in multiple districts. “In this hour of calamity, there is no federal or provincial divide. Helping our distressed brothers and sisters is our national duty,” he said, stressing that this was a time for service, not politics.
Shehbaz Sharif said the federal government would provide financial assistance to the families of the deceased and other victims under the Prime Minister’s Relief Package. He instructed the Ministry of Finance to ensure immediate funds for the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and ordered the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) to be mobilized for cash assistance.
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The prime minister tasked the Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan with overseeing operations, while other federal ministers were directed to personally monitor restoration of electricity, water supply, roads, and other facilities. He further ordered all ministers concerned to visit affected areas and remain there until relief was delivered and basic infrastructure restored.
The National Highway Authority (NHA), Ministry of Communications, and Frontier Works Organization (FWO) were directed to prioritize reopening blocked routes and repairing highways and bridges, without distinction between provincial or national roads. The Minister for Communications was told to personally supervise rehabilitation work, while the Minister for Power was instructed to visit affected areas and expedite restoration of electricity. The Ministry of Health was ordered to dispatch medicines, medical teams, and set up medical camps in flood-hit regions.
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NDMA was asked to provide a final assessment of damages and present a comprehensive distribution plan for relief items. According to preliminary estimates shared in the meeting, damages to public and private property had already crossed Rs126 million. NDMA reported that 456 relief camps had been established and 400 rescue operations carried out so far, while convoys carrying essential goods were being dispatched to the hardest-hit areas.
The meeting was also briefed that the monsoon season would continue until late September, with six major spells already passed and two more expected.
Several federal ministers, senior officials, and NDMA Chairman Lieutenant General Inam Haider Malik attended the meeting. Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs Engineer Amir Muqam briefed on the situation in Swat, Minister for Power Sardar Awais Khan Leghari on Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Special Assistant Mubarak Zeb on Bajaur, and officials on Malakand and Gilgit-Baltistan. The meeting concluded with prayers for the victims and speedy recovery of the injured.
