Post-flood situation demands relief work, not jalsas: PM Shehbaz Sharif

JHAKRO: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday urged the nation to work unitedly by extending a helping hand to the people suffering from devastation in the wake of massive floods.

Terming helping people in distress as noble service, he stressed the need for rising above politics and the so-called numbers game in order to converge the energies to help the flood-hit people. Without naming any politician, he pointed out that the post-flood situation in the country demanded that we should reach out to the flood victims instead of holding jalsas.

In an address to the locals during his visit to the tent-city set up in Jhakro village to accommodate the flood victims, the PM said all the segments of society, including the federal government, provincial governments and the people across the country, needed to work hand-in-hand with an objective to mitigate the problems of flood-stricken population.

The prime minister arrived in Sindh’s flood-affected area of Jhakro in Dadu district on Tuesday morning to oversee the relief and rehabilitation efforts. He expressed satisfaction over the efforts made by the Sindh government, armed forces and the disaster management authorities in providing relief to the flood-affected people. Sharif said the flood affected 33 million people, killed 1,600 and inflicted a huge loss of $30 billion on the national economy. He mentioned the government had disbursed Rs42 billion among the flood-affected people as part of relief and rehabilitation activities.

The prime minister said Pakistan alone could not overcome the challenge of massive floods and called upon the world to amplify its assistance to Pakistan. He expressed gratitude to the philanthropists for providing assistance to Pakistan in the hour of need. He assured the flood-hit people that the government would leave no stone un-turned in extending help to them.

Flanked by Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah and senior officials of the provincial government, the prime minister visited the tent-city where he was given a detailed briefing on the damage caused by the floods.

PM Sharif was apprised that floods affected all areas of district Dadu, leaving 37 persons dead while damaging its infrastructure and crops. During his interaction with patients at the medical camp, the prime minister inquired about their health and assured them the best possible treatment. He directed the authorities concerned to ensure availability of necessary medicines at the camp to cope with the emerging challenge of malaria, diarrhoea and other epidemics and breakouts.

The prime minister also visited a makeshift school set up in the premises of the tent-city. He announced on the occasion construction of a smart school for the children of the area. Sharif mingled with the children at the school and joined them in raising national slogans of Pakistan Zindabad (Long Live Pakistan) and Quaid-i-Azam Zindabad.

The prime minister resumed his visit to the flood-affected areas within 24 hours after he returned last night from London, where he had stayed after attending the session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.