ISLAMABAD: The PDM coalition government has approved the establishment of the National Flood Response and Coordination Center to devise comprehensive plans for the relief and rehabilitation of millions of flood victims.
The meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, also decided to form a National Flood Response and Coordination Centre to provide proper institutional response to the calamity, which will comprise federal ministers, representatives of armed forces, chief ministers and experts
It was also decided that all illegal constructions on the banks of rivers and other water courses would be removed.
The meeting was attended by the top civil and military brass, including the three services chiefs, the chief ministers of Balochistan and Sindh through video link, leaders of allied parties, federal ministers and senior officials from Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan.
The Center will serve as a bridge between disaster management authorities, donors & government institutions. It will collect & analyse latest information & pass it on to the relevant govt agencies. It will also oversee rescue & relief work including restoration of infrastructure.
— Shehbaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz) August 29, 2022
The PM said in his twitter message: “The Centre will serve as a bridge between disaster management authorities, donors and government institutions. It will collect and analyse latest information and pass it on to the relevant government agencies. It will also oversee rescue and relief work including restoration of infrastructure.”
Moreover, the “2022 Pakistan Floods Response Plan (FRP)” is being jointly launched by the Government of Pakistan and the United Nations (UN) on 30 August 2022, simultaneously in Islamabad and Geneva.
According to the Foreign Office, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari will deliver the keynote address at the launch event being hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, followed by a video message from Secretary General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres. Federal Minister for Planning, Development, and Special Initiatives, Ahsan Iqbal, will also deliver remarks in his capacity as the Chairperson of the “Relief Coordination Committee” constituted by the Prime Minister of Pakistan.
The Floods Response Plan has been prepared in close coordination with NDMA. Chairman NDMA Lt. Gen. Akhtar Nawaz will also brief the session.
Also speaking at the event will be the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Islamabad, and the Assistant Secretary General of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).
The launch event will be attended by all UN Member States as well as various UN agencies and humanitarian organizations working in the area of disaster relief.
The FRP will complement the government’s overall humanitarian response to the recent floods caused by unprecedented rains in Pakistan.
