Army Flood Relief Fund ‘Receives Rs417m’
Army relief fund “receives Rs417m so far,” DG ISPR says the armed forces have been working day and night in the affected areas for the past two months.
Director-General of Inter-Service Public Relations (DG ISPR), Major General Babar Iftikhar, said on Saturday that the nation has generously contributed to the Army’s Flood Relief Fund as Rs.417 million has been raised so far for victims of floods. floods while 44 million rupees were collected in the last 24 hours.
During a joint media briefing with Federal Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, NDMA Chairman, Lieutenant General Akhter Nawaz, and the National Coordinator of the National Flood Response and Coordination Center (NFRCC), DG ISPR briefed the media on the Pakistani army’s relief and rescue activities in flood-affected areas.
Babar said that since the start of the crisis caused by the recent monsoon rains, the military has been working day and night in the affected areas for the past two months to help their brothers and sisters.
“Every soldier and officer in the Pakistani army is trying to alleviate the problems of the people by considering it a sacred obligation rather than a duty,” he said.
He continued: “This was the spirit in which Lieutenant General Sarfraz Ali, Major General Amjad Hanif, Brigadier General Muhammad Khalid, Major Saeed Ahmed, Major Muhammad Talha Manan, and Naik Mudassar Fayyaz sent their brothers and sisters affected by the floods in the Lasbela (Winder) area from Balochistan last month and embraced martyrdom in a helicopter accident during the rescue ”.
Army Flood Relief Fund ‘Receives Rs417m’
According to the instructions of the army chief, General Qamar Javed Bajwa, he said that the armed forces will not leave the people alone in this difficult time, “how long and effort it will take”. At the Army level, he said the Army Flood Relief Coordination Center had been established under the direction of the Commander of the Army Air Defense Command, who also performs the duties of national coordinator of the national center for coordination and intervention in the event of flooding.
“As part of the RRR strategy, which stands for Relief, Rescue and Rehabilitation, the Pakistani military is part of an overall strategy with the civil administration, civil protection agency, and other charities.”
Babar said the army chief had made numerous visits to flood-hit areas in Sindh, Balochistan, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), and Punjab and reviewed ongoing relief efforts in the field.
However, all senior Pakistani army formations and commanders are present in the flood-affected areas and involved in the relief operations, he added.
Pakistan Army Aviation helicopters are continuously engaged in rescue and relief operations in the affected areas, he said, adding, “So far, 276 helicopter operations have been carried out. in different areas. Despite bad weather and other challenges, Pakistan Army Aviation pilots not only risked their lives to rescue people but also ensured that critical relief supplies were at hand. their disposal.
Speaking to the media, Ahsan Iqbal said, “This is not a disaster that can be dealt with alone.” He pointed out that it rained 1,500mm in areas where the average was 20-30mm. The minister said South Punjab, Dir, Nowshera, and Charsadda were severely affected by the floods, adding that more than one million homes and some 5,000km of roads were damaged.
He said a few days ago, 14 major highways connecting the country’s major logistics hubs were cut. “The Pakistani Armed Forces and other institutions have jointly repaired the highways in these areas, while the rest will be repaired in the coming days.”
Iqbal said drainage in Sindh is slow and thousands of hectares of land look like a sea.
He mentioned that 230 deaths were reported in Sindh while 54 were declared dead in Punjab’s Dera Ghazi Khan division. “Efforts are also underway for a speedy recovery of Punjab.”
The minister said 15 days ago that 81 stations on the network had been submerged, 69 of which had been restored. He said that of the 881 power supplies, 758 had been repaired and 123 were under construction. About 3,500 cell towers have been hit, of which 600 have yet to be repaired, he said, adding that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has also given instructions for their recovery.
General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) visited flood hit areas of Swat. COAS met women, children, elders & other people who were rescued today by Army aviation helicopters from Kumrat / Kalam to Kanju. (1/3) pic.twitter.com/mRaYjabouQ
— DG ISPR (@OfficialDGISPR) August 30, 2022
