THE visit of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir to the rain and flood hit districts of Swat, Buner, Shangla and Swabi has raised hopes for swift and comprehensive relief and rehabilitation activities in the affected areas besides brightening prospects for the launch of a national strategy to minimize impact of such disasters in future.
As Federal Government institutions including Pakistan Army are already actively involved in efforts to mitigate the woes of the affected people, the two leaders vowed to exploit all resources at their disposal to expand and maximize the process. They received comprehensive briefing on rescue and relief operations in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP), issued necessary directions to various agencies for the purpose and interacted with affected people to have firsthand knowledge of the strength and weaknesses of the ongoing operations and assured them of the Federal Government and Pakistan Army’s unwavering support. The Army Chief directed ground formations to approach this responsibility with utmost devotion and to spare no effort in alleviating the hardships of flood-stricken families. He underscored that the safety and relief of fellow citizens must remain the foremost priority.
The scale of the disaster, especially in many areas of the KP, demands collective national endeavour to extend required assistance to the victims of the natural disaster and the visit has effectively conveyed the message of unity and solidarity. What the PM and the COAS said on the occasion were not hollow words and Shehbaz Sharif disbursed relief cheques among victims and announced seven days of free electricity for affected households. As accessibility is one of the main hurdles in smooth provision of necessary aid, he ordered immediate repair of damaged road infrastructure, regardless of whether it fell under provincial or federal jurisdiction and one hopes this will be done on a priority basis. The PM was right when he attributed the scale of devastation — which claimed over 700 lives, including 350 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa — to environmental degradation, illegal construction, deforestation and unchecked mining. Environmental issues were also behind the large-scale destruction in Sindh during 2022 rains and floods but neither the government nor the people have learnt any lesson as is evident from the fact that most of the losses to human lives and properties was caused in KP due to illegal construction and mindless erosion of the forest cover. The volume of the floating timber in the Nauseri Dam on the Neelum River in Azad Jammu & Kashmir is reflective of the scale of this illegal activity and speaks volumes about collusion of the concerned officials with the timber mafia. There are big question marks on the capacity and will of the government to check this theft as was also highlighted by the fact that local residents thronged the dam to collect the timber for personal use, making mockery of the emergency operation launched by the forest department to retrieve usable timber from the reservoir. In this backdrop, the announcement of the Prime Minister to convene a meeting of all the chief ministers to discuss plans for tangible action and strategy against illegal cutting of trees and illegal construction will be a step in the right direction. The PM has called for firm action against encroachments, the timber mafia and unregulated mining in waterways and vigilance by provincial governments and local officials and departments concerned could help save precious lives in future. A nationwide ban on construction in vulnerable riverines and mountainous areas is the need of the hour in view of devastation caused in the KP, GB, AJK and feared disaster in South Punjab and Sindh. Apart from a coordinated and transparent operation against all encroachments, responsibility should be clearly fixed against emergence of such illegal construction again.
