01 FRONT PAGE (16-8-2022) (LHR-ISB)_Layout 1 8/16/2022 1:05 AM Page 1
Tuesday, 16 August, 2022 I 17 Muharram, 1444 I Rs 15.00 I Vol XIII No 47 I 12 Pages I Islamabad Edition
Floods wreak havoc on villages in Balochistan, southern PunjaB 19 people drown in flash floods in Musa Khel; thousands stranded as flash floods hit Balochistan, south punjaB hard g rescuers fish out nine dead Bodies in south punjaB
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ISLAMABAD
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Staff RepoRt
loods have wreaked havoc on villages in Balochistan and southern punjab, leaving the floodhit people trapped under the open sky, waiting for some aid from the government on Monday. as many as 19 people were drowned in flash floods in Musa Khel in Balochistan and dera Ghazi Khan in punjab while the rescuers fished out nine dead bodies. reportedly, a dam in Musa Khel, Balochistan swept away following the torrential rains on Mon-
day. as a result, 12 people drowned in the floodwaters. the rescue officials took out four bodies while the search for 8 others was underway. while confirming the news, deputy commissioner yasir iqbal dashti said that hundreds of houses collapsed during the recent spell of heavy rains. according to official data, the death toll in Balochistan has reached 194. in punjab, seven people have swept away in the hill torrent from Koh-e-suleman in tuman Qaisarani in dera Ghazi Khan. so far, five dead bodies have been fished out. the rescuers have saved one person while another is
still missing. a woman died due to land sliding in the area. dear Ghazi Khan has been cut off from the rest of the country due to hill torrents from the suleman range mountains. in Balochistan, the nullahs and streams in Kohlu, Barkhan, dera Bugti, jhal Magsi and jafarabad have overflown threatening flooding of the areas. river nari and river tili are facing medium flood. according to official data, the death toll in Balochistan has reached 194. floods have wreaked havoc on villages in Balochistan and southern punjab, leaving the flood-hit people trapped under
the open sky, waiting for some aid from the government. the heavy rain has also left the sewerage system of many areas choked, forcing the people to reach their destinations after passing through the dirty water accumulated in the streets and roads. DozENS of VILLAgES IN SIbI AND KoT ChuTTA SubMERgED: dozens of villages were flooded in lehri tehsil, sibi district, Balochistan due to the inflow of 140,000 cusecs of water in lehri river. dozens of villages were flooded in lehri tehsil, sibi district, Balochistan due to the inflow of 140,000 cusecs of water in lehri river. Bakhtiar abad domki, dargah Katbar sharif, tanya and wazira are among the villages that were submerged. the road, connecting dargah Katbar sharif to other areas of Balochistan, has also fallen prey to the flood. residents of dargah Katbar sharif and adjoining villages are trapped in flood under the open sky. rescue teams have not been able to reach the flood-hit areas due to a lack of land connectivity. the villagers of dargah Katbar sharif, suffering from a lack of food including clean drinking water, are waiting for aid under the open sky. after submerging dozens of villages in lehri tehsil, the flood is now moving towards naseerabad.
tehreek-e-insaf (pti) chairman imran Khan received funding from foreign companies and individuals. javed latif criticised imran Khan over foreign funding issues, questioning that if the funds were given to the hospital, then why they were deposited in party ’s accounts. if the funds were given to the party, then what was the aim of the funding, he added. he said that imran Khan damaged the economy during his tenure in power. now when the value of dollar had started going down, then imran Khan had started giving threats of staging a sit-in again.
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Nawaz Sharif to return in September, claims Javed Latif LAHORE federal Minister and pakistan Muslim leaguenawaz (pMl-n) leader Mian javed latif has claimed that the party supremo nawaz sharif will return to the country in september to represent the people. the announcement comes at an interesting juncture as some important personalities are in london thee days and there have been reports of quiet meetings taking place. in this backdrop, the announcement from the pMln is interesting. addressing a press conference along with pMl-n punjab spokesperson azma Bukhari here on Monday, he said that “doc-
tors” kept changing their opinion at times. he said that people were his doctors, and they gave the verdict that nawaz sharif should come back, adding that level playing field in pakistani politics was impossible without nawaz’s presence. he further said that nawaz sharif was not afraid of going to jail. he went to jail on his return from abroad when he was sentenced, he said, adding that the pMl-n would not allow the party chief to go back to jail upon his return, as it felt that injustice was committed earlier. he said that after the announcement of foreign funding case by the election commission, a segment was not ready to accept it, whereas it had been proved that pakistan
ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt
prime Minister shehbaz sharif on Monday directed to ensure the provision of rs 50,000 relief to each flood affected family in the flood hit areas through a transparent process within the three days. Benazir income support programme (Bisp) will provide rs 50,000 cash relief to every flood affected family under the supervision of national disaster Management authority (ndMa), he added. the prime minister was presiding over a meeting of the relief coordination committee constituted for the flood affected areas. the meeting was attended by federal Ministers Miftah ismail, ahsan iqbal, Marriyam aurangzeb, Murtaza javed abbasi, Maulana asad Mehmood, advisor to pM Qamar Zaman Kaira, chairman ndMa lt. Gen. akhtar nawaz and relevant senior officials. Minister for housing Maulana abdul wasay, chief Minister Balochistan abdul Quddus Bizenjo and Member provicial assembly (Mpa) Balochistan sanaullah Baloch attended the meeting through video-link. the prime minister further said that the disbursement of cash relief should be ensured through electronic transfer so that the deserving people get relief. he directed the flood relief coordination committee to finalize the process of rs 50,000 cash relief disbursement and present its report by today evening. the prime minister said that the joint survey in coordination with the provincial governments for the assessment of flood-related losses should be completed in three weeks instead of five weeks. the provincial governments should also cooperate and coordinate with ndMa regarding the joint survey at the earliest and to ensure timely relief for the flood affected people, he added. the prime minister said that it was the provincial governments’ prerogative to become part of the federal government’s flood relief efforts, adding, however, the federal government would ensure the relief and rehabilitation of the flood affected people through its own resources. he also directed the Minister for information and Broadcasting to formulate a comprehensive awareness campaign in that regard. the meeting was told that a survey would be conducted in coordination with the provincial governments to assess the damages caused by the recent spell of rains and floods. it was further told that by the time survey was completed, the government, through Bisp, will provide rs 30,000 cash relief to each flood affected family. the prime minister, however, directed to enhance the cash relief to rs 50,000 for each affected family and disburse the same under the supervision of ndMa.
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Staff RepoRt
PM to provide Rs 50,000 cash relief to each flood affected family within 3 days
PM, Saudi crown prince express resolve to boost relationship g
latest call coMes a day after saudi araBia renewed a $3 Billion deposit in central BanK ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt
the prime minister and Mohammed bin salman, the crown prince of saudi arabia, on Monday expressed the resolve to further strengthen the strong, longstanding fraternal ties between the two nations. in a telephonic conversation, the two leaders also exchanged views on issues of mutual interest, the prime Minister’s office (pMo) said in a statement. according to the statement, sharif conveyed his “deep respects” to salman bin abdulaziz, the oil-rich kingdom’s king. the call comes a day after saudi
arabia agreed to renew a $3 billion deposit at the state Bank of pakistan (sBp) to bolster the country’s depleted foreign reserves as islamabad negotiates an aid package with the international Monetary fund (iMf). the world’s top oil exporter, which has traditionally provided financial aid to islamabad, has also agreed to support pakistan with $1 billion in petroleum products over 10 months, the financial times reported. the assistance could help pakistan secure a $1.2 billion payment from the iMf, whose board is set to meet this month to approve the disbursement. during the conversation Monday, the crown prince congratulated the
prime minister and the people of pakistan on the 75th anniversary of pakistan’s independence. he also conveyed his “best wishes” for the continued progress, prosperity and development of pakistan. the two also reviewed the progress made on the decisions taken by the two sides during the maiden visit of shehbaz sharif after assuming the top office in april. they resolved to expedite the ongoing cooperation in investment, energy and trade fields. recalling the historic support extended by the kingdom to pakistan in testing times, the prime minister thanked the crown prince for the recent eco-
nomic and development support his government provided to islamabad. sharif also reiterated his “cordial invi-
tation” to the crown prince for a visit which he “graciously accepted”, the statement announced.