PM Imran orders authorities to carry out rescue operations in AJK

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday said that he has given directions to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), military, and federal ministers to carry out rescue operations in the snow affected areas Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

"The severe snowfalls and landslides in AJK have caused misery & deaths. I have asked the NDMA, the military & all our federal ministers to immediately provide all humanitarian assistance on an emergency footing to the affected people in AJK," PM Imran said on his Twitter account.

83 dead as severe cold grips Pakistan

The death toll from snow-related deaths climbed to 83 as severe weather continued across the country bringing life to a standstill.

According to a statement by the NDMA at least 55 people have been killed in Azad Kashmir due to weather related deaths.

Furthermore, the NDMA said 19 people have died in an avalanche while 10 others were still missing.

Four injured have been recovered from the rubble, an NDMA spokesperson said.

"49 bodies were removed from collapsed buildings in Muzaffarabad," Ahmad Raza Qadri, the Khyber Pakhtunkhawa chief of provincial disaster management said.

“Rescue operation is under way with the help of Pakistan Army,” Qadri said, adding that due to the severe weather conditions the rescue operations were hampered.

He added the injured were shifted in Pakistan Army helicopters to nearby hospitals.