Monday, 29 august, 2022 I 30 Muharram, 1444 I rs 40.00 I Vol XIII no 60 I 44 Pages I Islamabad edition
Govt steps up rescue, relief efforts as ravaGes of flood continue g
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staff report
he Federal government sped up the rescue and relief operations in floodaffected areas across the country, while stranded people were also being shifted to the camps and safer places on Sunday.
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Relief camps were being established across all calamity-hit areas of the country, whereas food, medical aid and other relief items were being provided to affected people in the camps. Provincial Disaster Management Authority and other relevant stakeholders continued distributing tents among the affected people. Besides provincial departments and Res-
cue 1122, officials of National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), National highway Authority (NhA), troops of Pakistan Army, Pakistan Air Force and Frontier Corps expedited rescue and rehabilitation operations in the flood-hit areas, including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the worst-affected Balochistan. Meanwhile, President Dr Arif Alvi reinforced the Government of Pakistan’s appeal for international assistance and relief to support the flood affectees. Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif announced a grant of Rs10 billion for Balochistan province to cope with the situation and assist the flood victims in the aftermath of recent heavy rainfall and floods. Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb has said that two aircraft from Turkiye carrying relief goods would arrive in Karachi on Monday (today). “The Consul General of Turkiye in Karachi will hand over the relief goods to the Pakistani authorities at the airport tomorrow morning,” she said in a series of tweets. Marriyum Aurangzeb also said that fifteen more planeloads of relief goods from the united Arab emirates (uAe) would arrive in Pakistan in the coming days. Chief of Army Staff (CoAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa made a visit to flood-hit areas of Sindh and also interacted with ground troops busy in relief activities.
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Pakistan goes down fighting in first of three contests against India DUBAI staff report
hardik Pandya starred with bat and ball to lead India to a five-wicket win over Pakistan in a last-over T20 thriller in the Asia Cup on Sunday at the Dubai Cricket Stadium in the united Arab emirates (uAe). Chasing 148 for victory, Ravindra Jadeja, who hit 35, and Pandya, unbeaten on 33, put on a key fifth-wicket stand of 52 as India achieved the target with two balls to spare. Pace bowlers Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Pandya shared seven wickets to set up victory for India in their opening match as they bowled out Pakistan for 147. Pandya, who returned figures of 3-25 with his medium-pace bowling, then stood calm to hit the winning six in a tense chase in the six-nation tournament which
acts as a tune-up for the T20 world Cup in october-November in Australia. India, who lost their previous match with to Pakistan by 10 wickets in last year’s T20 world Cup at the same venue, improved their win-loss record to 8-2 against the arch-rivals in Virat Kohli’s 100th T20 international.
Debutant pace bowler Naseem Shah stood out for Pakistan with figures of 2-27 but a foot injury in the last few overs had him limping as India took control with the right-left batting pair of Pandya and Jadeja. Pakistan kept chipping away with wickets as Naseem bowled
Suryakumar yadav for 18 and Mohammad Nawaz rattled the stumps of Jadeja in the final over. Virat Kohli scored 35 before falling to Nawaz’s left-arm spin that also claimed skipper Rohit Sharma for 12. Naseem struck early with the wicket of Kl Rahul for nought as the opener dragged an express delivery on to his stumps. The 19-year-old Naseem nearly got Kohli out two balls later only for Fakhar Zaman to drop a catch at second slip. earlier Kumar set the tone for India’s dominance as he dismissed skipper Babar Azam for 10 in the second over and returned figures of 4-26. Pandya rattled Pakistan’s middle-order with his three wickets including the dangerman wicketkeeperbatsman Mohammad Rizwan who had hit 43 off 42 balls.
PM announces rs10b to assist flood victims in balochistan
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Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday announced a grant of Rs10 billion for Balochistan province to cope with the situation and assist the flood victims in the aftermath of recent heavy rainfall and floods. Speaking to media after visiting the flood-affected areas including haji Allah Dino village, the prime minister said that he had never witnessed in his lifetime such massive destruction wrecked by unprecedented floods and rainfalls across the country. he said the impacts of natural calamities could not be overcome with mere raising slogans, making of statements and hurling of allegations. he stressed that they would have to work hard, and shed sweat and blood to overcome the flood situation in the country, adding that different countries had devised technical mechanisms by making investments to overcome the natural catastrophes. The prime minister regretted that false statements by certain political figures could not mislead the nation. “I will speak the truth. For the last 73 years, Pakistan could not stand on its feet,” he regretted. The prime minister also expressed gratitude to the Presidents of the united Arab emirates and Turkey for expressing their grief over loss of lives in Pakistan and their concerns over the distressed Pakistanis who were facing ordeals due to floods. he said that they were thankful to the friendly countries who were extending flood relief and assistance to the flood victims, adding two planeloads of relief assistance from Turkey would land in Karachi while another from the uAe would arrive Islamabad. “we are grateful to the friendly countries for their support and solidarity. The uK government and other countries have announced their support in this hour of distress for which we express our thankfulness,” he added. The prime minister also appealed to the wealthy people of the country to support the millions affected people with their generous donations who had been in dire need of immediate relief and assistance. he said in the past, the people had supported the calamity hit populace, adding that they were receiving donations in the PM Relief Fund, and cited a donation of worth Rs45 million by a group while another significant contribution by an individual. Acting Governor Balochistan Mir Jan Muhammad Jamali, Chief Minister Abdul Quddus Bizenjo and Chief Secretary Abdul Aziz Aqeeli, NDMA and PDMA authorities were also accompanied the prime minister. The prime minister said during his aerial view, he had witnessed huge chunks of land inundated by the flood water including Kachi, and Sobatpur, and likened the situation to an overflowing ocean. Flood water had submerged Rajanpur, Rahimyar Khan and Ghotki areas.
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Govt reaches out to IMF for clarifying on KP govt’s letter ISLAMABAD staff report
Pakistan has contacted the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a clarification of a letter written by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Finance Minister Taimur Saleem Jhagra to Finance Minister Miftah Ismail. According to an announcement by the federal finance ministry, Finance Minister Miftah Ismail and officials of the ministry gave an explanation to the IMF, media reports said. It said the province and the Centre had ensured that all points of the agreement would be implemented and they still stood by their commitment. The ministry said the IMF agreement would be implemented at all costs and the international lender
had responded positively to Pakistan’s explanation The KP government had refused to comply with the requirement of the IMF before the final agreement. KP Minister for Finance Taimur Saleem Jhagra had written a letter to Federal Finance Minister Miftah Ismail, saying that the province could not leave a surplus budget as desired by the IMF. Miftah Ismail had expressed outrage at the letter. PM Shehbaz crItIcISeS PtI For jeoPardISInG IMF deal: Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that self-centred politics can cause irreparable damage to Pakistan as unfortunately, a party is playing politics over the agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) when the lender’s board meeting is
around the corner, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said, without naming the PTI. “I have never seen such self-centered politics; it will be a huge injustice with Pakistan and a big conspiracy
against the country,” the premier said while referring to PTI on his visit to the flood victims in Sujawl, Sindh. PM Shehbaz said that the federal government had allocated Rs38 billion in grant to support the flood-affected families with the disbursement of Rs25,000 to each of them. Speaking to the flood victims, the prime minister said he had already announced Rs15 billion in grant to Sindh while the distribution of flood relief amount among the affected families had commenced in the province after Balochistan under the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP). “The BISP has complete data, ensuring prompt and fair distribution among the deserving families,” he added.
Assuring the provincial governments of the federal government’s support, the prime minister said other provinces would also be provided with grants. The prime minister was accompanied by Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, federal ministers and relevant authorities. The prime minister said the federal government had continued it efforts to support the provincial governments in rescue, relief and rehabilitation efforts with the support of the National Disaster Management Authority and other relevant departments. “A survey will be launched soon to assess the damages and losses caused by floods across the country,” he added. The prime minister stressed that in the hour of trial, they had to work collectively, instead of playing politics.