Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Friday reiterated the commitment of the federal government to assisting the families of the flood-affected and accelerating the pace of their rehabilitation especially in the worst affected areas. He further highlighted on the necessity to curb activities on illegal constructions on rivers which impede the effects that trigger by heavy rains and flash floods.
The prime minister was terribly worried with recent cloudbursts, heavy rain and flash floods that devastated Swat, Swabi, Mansehra and Shangla during a meeting of the federal cabinet. He said federal ministers, secretaries, the Chairman of the NDMA and the armed forces were all on the job of relief efforts. He also reminded him of his recent tour to Buner and other flood affected districts along with the Field Marshal.
He mentioned the scale of destruction of the recent floods, which left over 700 dead (more than 400 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), caused widespread loss of property, and cited a recent report that 3.6 million residents displaced by the floods may not be able to return to them. The prime minister mentioned weather crises in Karachi, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and solidarity with affected populations there.
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He advised that deforestation in Galyat and elsewhere should be checked immediately and he would call a meeting to stop illegal constructions on rivers. As far as Pakistan-China relations are concerned, he said he would soon visit China to meet the Chinese leadership when he would attend SCO Summit. The cabinet prayed Fateha of the deceased of the recent floods.
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