World support needed

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday thanked United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres for his visit to Pakistan to express his unprecedented support for the flood victims. On his Twitter handle, the prime minister said that the UN secretary general’s two-day visit to Pakistan was vital for raising global awareness about the human tragedy. The prime minister reiterated that Pakistan needed global support to overcome this challenge. “A big thank you to UN SG Antonio Guterres for his unprecedented support of the flood victims. His two-day visit has been critical in raising awareness about the human tragedy. Deeply touched by his empathy and leadership. Pakistan needs global support to overcome this challenge,” the prime minister posted a tweet. In a related tweet, the prime minister said that during his visit to the flood-affected areas and camps under scorching heat, the UN Secretary General was overwhelmed by the scale of devastation that had engulfed Pakistan. “His voice has become the voice of flood victims. The world should pay heed to what he said about climate change,” he added. Meanwhile, upon the directive of Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, a ‘Digital Flood Dashboard’ to ensure transparency over flood relief assistance and its distribution system, will be formally launched by Minister for Planning, Deputy Chairman National Flood Response and Coordination Center Ahsan Iqbal on Monday. It would provide direct information to the general public about the financial support and the relief goods being received and distributed among the flood affectees at the global, federal and provincial levels, PM Office Media Wing said in a press release. An announcement in this regard was made during a meeting chaired by the prime minister. The meeting comprehensively reviewed the ongoing rescue and relief activities in the flood-hit areas. The prime minister was apprised that as per his directive, a digital flood dashboard had been prepared with the use of the latest technology to provide all the relevant details about the relief activities and receipt and distribution of relief goods and assistance. Besides, ensuring transparency in the ongoing processes, the general public and media would be kept abreast of the relief measures. The prime minister would personally supervise the digital dashboard as he had promised to the international community and the nation that relief assistance would be provided to the flood victims in a transparent way. The launching of this dashboard would be a step in this regard. The prime minister had also announced that the audit of the financial aid received for the flood victims would be conducted by the AGPR and the world’s reputed audit firm for the sake of transparency. During the meeting, the prime minister also reviewed the restoration of life activities in the flood-affected areas and directed for expediting the rehabilitation of roads, bridges, power supply and other relief measures. He also directed that provision of basic necessities of life including food items should be ensured in the flood-affected areas. While stressing upon collective mechanisms and cooperation with the provincial governments, the prime minister underlined the need for early restoration of roads and the formulation of a comprehensive strategy to resolve other issues faced by the provinces. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday while taking a notice of the possible threat to a 500KV grid station in Dadu from the flood situation, directed for utilization of all resources to protect the power grid. The prime minister directed the civil and military high-ups to immediately save the grid station from being affected by the flood, PM Office Media Wing said in a press release. For the uninterrupted power supply, the protection of grid station was necessary, he added. Upon PM’s directive, three excavators had been sent from Moro city. The prime minister had been, round the clock, supervising the restoration and rehabilitation work on the flood-damaged infrastructure.