Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has directed that financial assistance be provided to families affected by the recent monsoon rains and floods, including the families of those who lost their lives and the owners of houses damaged or destroyed (Geo News).
He was chairing a meeting on Saturday on the recent rains and the damage they have caused.
What was directed
Compensation for the families of all those who died in the floods, and for owners of houses completely or partially damaged.
Restoration of electricity transmission systems and roads in affected areas “at the earliest”. Federal ministers and secretaries were instructed to visit the affected areas in person, assess the damage themselves and ensure rehabilitation begins without delay.
Relief operations are to be accelerated, with food and other supplies delivered to areas that aid has not yet reached because of access problems. A total of 615 tonnes of relief supplies have been sent to affected areas.
The National Disaster Management Authority and the provincial disaster management authorities were told to remain fully prepared, in view of further rain expected.
What has not been stated
No amounts were attached to any of it.
The direction covers compensation for deaths and for damaged houses, but the announcement does not specify the rate per death, the rate for a destroyed or partially damaged house, the mechanism for claiming, or the timeframe for payment. Nor has a consolidated national death toll or damage assessment been published alongside it.
Those are the figures that determine whether a direction of this kind reaches the people it names.
The rains
The monsoon has been severe across upper and central Pakistan through August. Rawalpindi and Islamabad recorded heavy rainfall earlier in the week, with Nullah Lai placed under a flood alert and warning sirens sounded as water levels rose at Kattarian and Gawalmandi.
Flooding has since been reported in Battagram and Lower Dir, where two people were swept away.
Further rain, wind and thundershowers have been forecast for several upper and central parts of the country.
