Catastrophic Flooding
With over 937 people dead, and nearly 30 million displaced, homeless and starving, Pakistan has officially declared a national emergency following the deadly monsoon season. The situation is dire and according to the PM, damages are comparable to the calamitous 2010 floods. The relentless and unforgiving nature of the monsoon season this year is being attributed to rapidly deteriorating climate conditions. The gravity of the situation cannot be understated, especially when the real impact of these floods is also relatively unknown. Mass mobilisation of donations and relief efforts by individuals, families, and groups, seen in the past during catastrophic floods and earthquakes, must be repeated once more.
Source:The Nation
August 27, 2022 07:42 UTC
President appeals to nation to help flood victims
President Dr. Arif Alvi on Friday appealed to the entire nation, overseas Pakistanisand the international community to support the flood victims who were in dire need of rescue, relief and rehabilitation as unprecedented rains and floods had destroyed the lives and livelihood of people across Pakistan. The president said that unprecedented rains and resultant floods had damaged standing crops, affected roads, bridges and embankments, and disrupted communication and transportation infrastructure, making rescue and relief efforts an uphill task. - Advertisement -He said that not just Balochistan, Sindh and South Punjab, which were badly affected, but the current spell of torrential rains had led to flooding in the northern regions of the KPK province. He said that more than 900 people including 300 children had lost their lives and 1300 were injured, so far. The prime minister underlined that 33 million people had been badly affected by the flash floods and torrential rainfalls.
Source:The Nation
August 27, 2022 07:41 UTC
Flood victim killed over distribution of food package in Khairpur
SUKKUR – One of the flood victims allegedly killed another during distribution of food package at a relief camp set up in a school in Khairpur here on Friday. According to Police sources, the relief camp turned into a battleground when flood victims fought for food packages. During the chaos, Shabbir Barecho attempted to snatch a food package from Raza Barecho, who stabbed Shabbir to death. Police shifted the body to a local hospital and took the accused in to custody. This is a first-ever incident of killing over food at a relief camp.
Source:The Nation
August 27, 2022 05:42 UTC
Evacuation orders for two K-P districts as Munda bridge collapses
The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) government issued an “emergency evacuation order” for two districts after the Munda Headworks Bridge in Charsadda, which controlled the flow of Swat River, collapsed on Friday night due to devastating rain-induced floods in the province. Further, the under-construction 800 megawatts Mohmand dam hydropower project was also hit by the extraordinary Swat River flood situation. The Mohmand Dam is being constructed on the Swat River about five kilometres upstream of Munda Headworks Bridge in Mohmand district. The PTI government had kicked off the construction work on this project along with work on the Diamer-Bhasha dam project. Besides supplementing 160,000 acres of existing land, about 18,237 acres of new land would also be irrigated because of the Mohmand Dam.
Source:The Express Tribune
August 27, 2022 04:51 UTC
Visa for Germany
I am writing this after having failed repeatedly to contact the German consulate in Karachi in connection with the study visa for my son who has been admitted to Deggendorf Institute of Technology in Germany. There are currently no appointments available for filing visa application, and all my efforts to get in touch with the consulate through phone, email or website have been in vain. The semester starts in October, and considering that the process of 4-6 weeks of obtaining visa has not started yet, I fear that my son, and a lot of other students, will not be able to get visa in time. This will not only cause great mental stress, but will also result in the loss of precious academic time. The authorities concerned need to look into the matter urgently and help us move the required process at the earliest.
Source:Pakistan Today
August 27, 2022 02:18 UTC
Malir police, dist admin organise medical camp for flood victims
KARACHI – Keeping in view the recent rain calamity in Sindh and arrival of flood-affected displaced persons, a free medical camp was organised by Sindh Police District Malir and district administration at Gadap City in Government Boys Higher Secondary School Deh Konkar, Gabol Stop. Senior doctors, general physician, gynecologist, gastroenterologist, chest specialist, ENT, eye specialist, etc were present in the camp who checked hundreds of patients. At the camp, there was a facility for free diagnostics through Essa Lab, which obtained the samples and provided results to doctors on the spot. Apart from this, all EPI vaccines were available along with the LHWs to vaccinate children and infants, it added. The public facilitated by the free medical camp got a sigh of relief and expressed appreciation and gratitude to district Malir Police.
Source:The Nation
August 27, 2022 00:49 UTC
Pakistan senior football team selection process begins from August 27
The selection process for the formation of Pakistan senior football team will start from tomorrow (August 27), said PFF Normalization Committee member Shahid Niaz Khokhar. The players will be shortlisted after evaluating their performance and fitness of the players during the training camp,” said Shahid. The NC member further said that after Pakistan’s suspension ends, the FIFA-appointed PFF Normalization Committee is eager to resume domestic and international activities as soon as possible. On the other hand, after a long time, the Normalization Committee is in close contact with friendly countries to host international matches in the country. Before any final decision, the selection process has been started to form the national football team, Shahid asserted.
Source:The Nation
August 26, 2022 23:02 UTC
UN 'Flash Appeal' for flood victims to be launched on Aug 30
A United Nations 'Flash Appeal' is to be launched simultaneously in Geneva and Islamabad on August 30 as unprecedented rains have caused devastating floods across Pakistan. He said the government announced a state of emergency owing to huge loss of life, property, infrastructure, livestock and livelihoods. A National Emergency Operations Center is operating, and a National Relief Coordination Committee constituted by the prime minister is working under the chair of the minister for planning, he added. A UN Flash Appeal is also going to be launched on Tuesday 30 August simultaneously from Geneva and Islamabad." Rs5 billion have immediately been released to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) to accelerate the rescue, relief and rehabilitation efforts.
Source:The Express Tribune
August 26, 2022 21:00 UTC
Deduction of govt employees’ salaries for flood victims ‘unconstitutional’
An assistant session judge has approached the Sindh government against deductions from the salaries of the government employees for flood victims, terming the deductions as unconstitutional. “Sindh High Court has already made deductions in the month of June,” he said, adding that the government employees rely on their salaries and the harvest. On Thursday, Pakistan Army officers and all federal cabinet members have announced to donate one month’s salary to flood victims. According to the statement issued by military’s media wing, army officers have deposited one month’s salary in the flood relief fund while others are also giving financial donations on a voluntary basis. On the other hand, all the members of the federal cabinet have announced to donate one month’s salary to PM’s flood relief fund.
Source:Pakistan Today
August 26, 2022 20:25 UTC
MBHS students expected in new wing by early 2023
Oak Hill, WV (25901)TodayPartly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Winds light and variable..TonightPartly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Winds light and variable.
Source:The Express Tribune
August 26, 2022 18:41 UTC
President appeals to nation, world to come forward for help of flood affected people
President appeals to nation, world to come forward for help of flood affected peoplePresident Dr. Arif Alvi has appealed to the entire nation, overseas Pakistanis and the international community to come forward for the help of flood-affected people. In a statement, he said media should play its role to motivate the nation to donate the essential items through formal channels set up or endorsed by the government. The President said that unprecedented rains and resultant floods had damaged standing crops, affected roads, bridges and embankments, and disrupted communication and transportation infrastructure, making rescue and relief efforts an uphill task. He called upon all governments and institutions, NGOs and volunteers to offer their expertise and leadership to rescue, evacuate, and rehabilitate the affectees by providing them shelter, food and medical facilities. He expressed his confidence that like in the past, the nation would again come to the aid of the flood affectees and would not rest until their complete rehabilitation.
Source:The Nation
August 26, 2022 16:51 UTC
COAS orders troops to render all possible support to flood victims
Pakistan Army officers donate one month pay for flood relief operations. The participants undertook comprehensive overview of the flood situation and ongoing relief and rescue operations by the Army. COAS appreciated the ongoing relief efforts and directed the army formations to render all possible support to the flood affectees. The Corps commanders Conference was completely focused on flood situation, impact and most importantly the response and relief efforts. The ISPR said that All General Officers of Pakistan Army have donated one month pay for flood relief operations.
Source:The Nation
August 26, 2022 15:16 UTC
President urges nation, world to support flood victims
President Dr Arif Alvi on Friday appealed to the entire nation, overseas Pakistanis and international community to support the flood victims. In a statement, President expressed the hope that Pakistanis would come forward once again and contribute generously in cash and kind to support the rescue and relief efforts of the government and other relevant organizations. President Alvi also called upon the media to motivate the nation to donate the essential items identified by the government through formal channels set up or endorsed by the government in an organized and disciplined manner. The president said that unprecedented rains and resultant floods had damaged standing crops, affected roads, bridges and embankments, and disrupted communication and transportation infrastructure, making rescue and relief efforts an uphill task. “Since June, 903 people, including 326 children and 191 women, have died in various incidents of monsoon rains and floods.”INP/AJ
Source:The Nation
August 26, 2022 13:28 UTC
SBP’s forex reserves fall $87m to $7.8b
Photo: fileThe foreign exchange reserves held by the central bank decreased 1.1% on a weekly basis, according to data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Thursday. On August 19, the foreign currency reserves held by the SBP were recorded at $7,809.9 million, down $87 million compared with $7,897.3 million on August 12. Overall liquid foreign currency reserves held by the country, including net reserves held by banks other than the SBP, stood at $13,521.6 million. Net reserves held by banks amounted to $5,711.7 million. On March 30, 2021, Pakistan borrowed $2.5 billion through Eurobonds by offering lucrative interest rates to lenders aimed at building the foreign exchange reserves.
Source:The Express Tribune
August 26, 2022 12:41 UTC