Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif Thursday set up a committee of federal ministers to assess the damage in areas affected by monsoon rains and floods across the country and submit a report by August 4.
Chairing a meeting to assess the damage during the recent rains and floods, the prime minister asked the committee to visit all the affected areas within the next four days.
In line with the recommendations, a comprehensive short-, medium- and long-term plan will be formulated.
The prime minister directed to enhance the compensatory money to the affected persons from Rs 50,000 to Rs 200,000.
The compensation for partially damaged houses will be increased from Rs 25,000 to
Rs 250,000 and for fully damaged structures from the existing Rs 50,000 to Rs 500,000.
PM Sharif said the federal government would provide full assistance to the provincial governments to deal with the disaster of rain and flooding.
He urged the national and provincial disaster management bodies to ensure the implementation of the ‘Disaster Risk Management’ strategy instead of disaster management.
He also called upon them to fast approach the relevant ministries and international donor agencies to get financial assistance to deal with the challenge.
For restoration of the damaged infrastructure in Karachi due to recent rains, the prime minister said the federal government would write a letter to the Supreme Court for provision of the fund available with the top court.
He lauded National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Punjab Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) and the provincial governments for carrying out effective relief efforts during the natural disaster.
In a tweet, he said Pakistan was facing the challenges of climate change and stressed the need to address the problem of current flash flooding from the same perspective.
“Our ongoing floods and torrential rains need to be seen from that angle,” he said.
PM Sharif mentioned that climate change was a reality that was greatly impacting Pakistan.
“Climate change is an undeniable reality of our times and has serious consequences for developing countries like Pakistan,” he said.
The prime minister said the government was aligning its development goals with the requirements of climate change.
The meeting was attended by federal ministers including Miftah Ismail, Marriyum Aurangzeb, Sherry Rehman, Maulana Asad Mehmood, Israr Tareen, Amin ul Haq, Shazia Marri, Ahsan Iqbal, Maulana Abdul Wasay; State Minister Mehmood Hashim Notezai; Advisors Ahad Cheema, Fahad Hussain; Members National Assembly Khalid Hussain Magsi, Aslam Bhootani, Amin Haider Hoti, Maulana Abdul Akbar Chitralo, Sardar Riaz Muhammad Mazari, Maulana Salahuddin Ayubi, Mohsin Dawar, Ghulam Mustafa Shah,Kaisi Mal Khel Das, and Chairman NDMA Lt Gen Akhtar Nawaz.
Chief Minister Sindh Murad Ali Shah, Chief Minister Balochistan Abdul Qudoos Bizenjo, and provincial chief secretaries participated in the meeting through video-link.
The meeting was informed that Pakistan this year witnessed more than usual climatic situation with four heatwaves, and heavy monsoon rainfall.
The pre-monsoon was recorded 67 percent more compared with the average of last 30 years, and monsoon at 193 percent.
The monsoon rains in Balochistan and Sindh were recorded 467 percent and 390 percent respectively in three decades.
It was highlighted that the casualties reported in the aftermath of rains were one in Islamabad, 106 in Balochistan, 90 in Sindh, 69 in Khyber Pukhtunkhwa, 76 in Punjab, eight in Gilgit Baltistan and six in Azad Kashmir.
As many as 406 people across the country were injured during the torrential rains.
Pakistan has been experiencing an unprecedented heat wave and a series of extreme climate events ranging from flash floods to forest fires.
The country has long ranked among the most climate-vulnerable countries in the world, according to the Global Climate Risk Index, which tracks the devastating human and economic toll of extreme weather events.To address the issue, the vision of the government is to mainstream climate change in the vulnerable sectors of the economy and to steer Pakistan towards climate resilient development.
