Pakistan floods: President assures all-out support

NAWABSHAH: President Asif Ali Zardari on Wednesday said the government would not spare any effort to provide relief to the rain victims and rehabilitate them at the earliest.

He also called upon the well-to-do and affluent people to assist the government in the task. The president was talking to rain-affected people here at the Zardari House after taking an aerial view of the flooded areas of Benazirabad District.

Chief Minister of Sindh Qaim Ali Shah and MNA Faryal Talpur were also present on the occasion. Zardari, who arrived here early in the day to witness and get a firsthand account of the widespread devastation caused by the recent torrential rains in Sindh, took an aerial view of the affected areas of Kazi Ahmad, Sakrand and Daur in Benazirabad District.

Spokesperson to the President Farhatullah Babar said Zardari directed the chief minister, who accompanied him during the visit to the flooded areas, to personally monitor the situation and ensure that the victims were given relief and properly rehabilitated.

The president, who will stay in Benazirabad on Wednesday, besides, meeting the rain victims, will also hold review meetings with officials concerned to assess the damage and review the relief measures.

He will be briefed about the scale of damage and the measures being taken to evacuate the people still trapped, the relief camps set-up to provide shelter, food and healthcare to the displaced people.

Zardari will also be informed about the vast scale damage to the crops, property, livestock and the communications network. The president, who has been constantly monitoring the situation caused by the heavy rains, has already directed the National Disaster Management Authority and the federal and the provincial governments to utilise all available resources to provide relief to the rain victims.

Moreover, Baitul Maal Managing Director Chaudhry Zammarud Khan called on the president here at the Zardari House on Wednesday and apprised him of the activities of the Baitul Maal in mitigating the sufferings of rain victims. He briefed the president about the regular `Langars' being held by the Baitul Maal to provide cooked food to the victims. Zardari directed Zammarud to reach out to the victims in far flung areas.