Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced on Friday the launch of an anti-en-settling campaign nationwide around rivers, streams and natural river roads, saying that the protection of water channels was fundamental to avoid future flood disasters. By chairing a high -level meeting to review the damage caused by the rains and floods of the in progress, the prime minister directed the immediate operations of relief and recovery, together with long -term preventive measures. The assistance to the victims of the floods, he said, was a "National duty."
According to his office, the prime minister ordered the Ministry of Water Resources to extend full support for the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government in the restoration of water supply systems interrupted by floods. "Relief and rescue are the first, but rehabilitation must begin without delay," Added. The prime minister also ordered federal ministers and secretaries to be deployed in districts affected by floods to supervise and coordinate the help efforts in the field. He also expressed concern about the new spells of heavy expected rains in the next few days, ordering the authorities that emit timely advertisements and guarantee a strict monitoring of vulnerable areas. Focusing on Gilgit-Baltistan, where a glacier outburst in Ghizer had created an artificial lake, the prime minister commissioned the president of the NDMA to monitor the situation closely and guarantee the preventive evacuation of the populations at risk. He said that the engineering resources of the Army of Pakistan and FCNA must mobilize to facilitate the safe drainage of the lake without causing more damage. The meeting was informed about river flows, glacial and forecasts of time for the north and south parts of the country. The information minister also updated the meeting on the establishment of a central coordination committee to rationalize rescue and relief operations throughout the country.
