Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced on Friday the launch of a nationwide anti-annings campaign around rivers, streams and natural waterways and said the protection of water channels was critical of averting future flood disasters. Chairman of a high -level meeting to undergo the damage caused by the ongoing monsoon rain and flooding, the Prime Minister conducted immediate relief and recovery operations along with long -term preventive measures. Help to flood victims, he said, was a "National duty."
According to his office, the Prime Minister instructed the Ministry of Water Resources to extend full support to the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government to restore water supply systems disturbed by flooding. "Help and rescue comes first but rehabilitation must begin without delay," he added. The prime minister also ordered federal ministers and secretaries to be deployed in flooded districts to oversee and coordinate relief efforts on earth. He also expressed concerns about fresh spell with heavy rainfall in the coming days, instructing authorities to issue timely early warnings and ensure strict monitoring of vulnerable areas. Focusing on Gilgit-Baltistan, where a glacier outbreak in Ghizer had created an artificial lake, caused the leading NDMA chairman to monitor the situation closely and secure preventive evacuation of populations at risk. He said that engineering resources from the Pakistani Army and FCNA should be mobilized to facilitate safe drainage of the lake without causing further damage. The meeting was informed of river flows, Istruses and weather forecasts for the northern and southern parts of the country. The Minister of Information also updated the meeting on the establishment of a central coordination committee to streamline rescue and relief operations nationwide.
