ISLAMABAD, Aug 24 (APP): Federal Minister for Planning Development & Special Initiatives Professor Ahsan Iqbal Wednesday said that the incumbent government was committed to provide relief to the flood-affected people and directed the relevant stakeholders to expedite the assistance to the people particularly in Balochistan.
He issued the directions while chairing an emergency meeting to monitor the flood situation in the country particularly in Balochistan that was the most affected province.
The meeting was attended by the Chairman National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Chairman National Highway Authority (NHA), Members National Assembly from Balochistan and heads of provincial disaster management authorities.
During the meeting, the minister was given a detailed briefing about the recent flood situation of floods in the country particularly in Balochistan.
Ahsan Iqbal directed NHA to ensure the restoration of highways which were badly affected by floods so relief efforts could not be disturbed.
Similarly, he directed Sparco to carry out an aerial inspection to assess the flood situation in Sindh.
It is noted that the federal government had already declared an emergency situation in the flood-affected areas.
The provincial governments have also been directed to declare the areas as calamity-hit so that relief and rehabilitation efforts can be expedited.
The minister also directed the concerned stakeholders to ensure the disbursement of cash to the affected people through BISP, adding the country was facing an unprecedented the natural disaster and despite the limited resources the incumbent government was making all-out efforts to support the flood-affected people and for their rehabilitation.
He directed the concerned stakeholders to establish call centers to address the problems of the affected people.
Public representatives should be contacted to assess the damages and flood situation in the affeted areas, he added.
Later, the minister held a separate emergency meeting with the Members of National Assembly belong to Balochistan and inquired about the latest flood situation in the province.
The minister said that MNAs from Balcohistan could better highlight the situation which would help the concerned stakeholders to address the issues in the affected areas.
The government stood with the people of Balochistan in this difficult time as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was continuously getting updates over the floods, he added.
Earlier, Professor Iqbal in letters to the Chief Ministers of Balochistan, Sindh, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Prime Minister AJK and GB asked them to devise a plan for the joint flood relief efforts.