KARACHI: Shehbaz Sharif has urged the nation to work in unison by extending a helping hand to the people hit by the most severe flooding in Pakistan’s recent history that has killed more than 1,600 people and left a third of the country underwater.
Lending a helping hand to the people in distress was a noble service, he said, and stressed the need for rising above politics and what he said was a number game in order to converge the energies to help the flood victims.
Without naming his predecessor Imran Khan, Sharif said the situation in the country demanded reaching out to the homeless instead of holding public gatherings.
In an address to the locals during his visit to a tent-city set up in Jhakro village of Dadu in Sindh to accommodate the victims of flooding, he said all segments of society — including the federal and provincial governments, and the people across the country — needed to work hand-in-hand with an objective to mitigate the problems of the flood-stricken population.
The prime minister arrived in Dadu district in the morning to oversee the relief and rehabilitation efforts.
He expressed satisfaction over the efforts made by the Sindh government, the army and the disaster management authorities in providing relief to the flood-affected people.
PM said the flood affected 33 million people including 1,600 dead and inflicted a loss of $30 billion to the economy.
He mentioned the government had disbursed Rs42 billion among the flood-affected people as part of relief and rehabilitation activities.
The prime minister reiterated 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 relief assistance to Pakistan in the hour of need.
He assured the flood-hit people that the government would leave no stone unturned in extending help to them.
Flanked by Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah and members of the provincial administration, the prime minister visited the tent-city where he was given a detailed briefing on the damage caused by floods.
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 a medical camp, the prime minister inquired about their health and assured them of the best possible treatment. He directed the authorities concerned to ensure the availability of necessary medicine at the camp to cope with the emerging challenge of malaria, diarrhoea and other epidemics and breakouts.
Sharif also visited a makeshift school set up on the premises of another tent-city aimed at preventing the loss of education of the students after the floods swept away their schools. Speaking on the occasion, he announced the construction of a smart school for the children of the area equipped with the latest technological facilities. He also mingled with the children at the school and joined them in chanting slogans of Pakistan Zindabad.
The prime minister resumed visits to the flood-ravaged cities within 24 hours of his return from London where he had gone to meet his brother and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif to discuss the appointment of the next army chief.
