ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday directed officials to produce a comprehensive report within a week on damages caused by recent monsoon floods, saying the assessment was essential for planning relief and recovery operations.
Heavy rains and floods in Pakistan have killed more than 1,000 people since the monsoon began in late June. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) reported over 500 fatalities, the highest number for any province, while Punjab suffered large-scale devastation in late August when torrential rains and water releases from Indian dams triggered floods that raised its cumulative death toll to more than 300.
Authorities said over 4,700 villages were inundated in Punjab, affecting 4.7 million people, and the province mounted its largest-ever search and rescue operation, evacuating 2.6 million people and 2.1 million animals.
“The assessment of damages to crops and infrastructure after the floods should be completed at the earliest to facilitate comprehensive planning for relief and rehabilitation,” Sharif said, according to a statement from his office.
He instructed officials to present a full report within a week.
Sharif, who chaired the meeting via video link from New York after addressing the United Nations General Assembly, ordered accelerated relief and rehabilitation measures, saying his government would “not rest until the people in the flood-affected areas are rehabilitated.”
He directed Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal to closely monitor aid and recovery operations, convene regular review meetings and ensure coordination between federal agencies and provincial authorities.
Sharif also emphasized preventive steps against waterborne diseases, called for special measures to cultivate suitable crops in the flood-hit areas and instructed the National Highway Authority (NHA) to expedite work on repairing the damaged section of the M-5 motorway near Jalalpur Pirwala.
Officials briefed the prime minister that about 350,000 displaced people had already returned home, while others still in camps in Sindh were expected to return soon as floodwaters recede.
