RAWALPINDI, June 30: Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director-General Maj-Gen Waheed Arshad conceded on Saturday that aid had not reached all flood-affected areas.
In reply to a question at a press conference, he ruled out seeking Nato’s help for relief work. “We have no strategic concerns and have nothing to hide, but armed forces of the country are capable of handling the situation,” he said.
Giving details of the devastation caused by recent rains and floods in the aftermath of cyclone Yemyin, Gen Waheed said over 800,000 people had been affected and 80,000 displaced.
So far 138 deaths had been confirmed in the four provinces -- 90 in Sindh, 14 in Balochistan, 24 in the NWFP and 10 in Punjab. He said 29 people were reported to be missing in the sea.
The ISPR chief said he was unaware that the Balochistan government had sought assistance from the international community.
Gen Waheed confirmed reports of clashes between police and the people in Turbat over the distribution of relief goods. He said that things had been streamlined and a substantial number of troops, helicopters and relief goods were in place.
He said all efforts were being made to ensure the provision of assistance to a maximum number of people, but battered roads and inhospitable weather were hampering relief efforts.
The ISPR chief pointed out that the coastal highway was cut off at seven points, adding that initially bypasses would be built to open the road for light traffic as the reconstruction would take a long time.
He said a sizeable number of troops of the Pakistan Army were being sent to the flood-affected areas of Balochistan and Sindh to add up the existing deployments engaged in relief and rescue operations.
The ISPR chief pointed out that an infantry brigade was being moved from Karachi to Turbat, while additional troops had been earmarked for assistance.
He said that Gwadar, Turbat, Sibi, Lasbela, Jhal Magsi, Bolan, Khuzdar, Ormara, Jaffarabad, Panjgur, Dalbandin, Kharan, Pishin and Naushki had been badly affected by floods. The railway track between Quetta and Sibi and Coastal Highway and RCD Highway between Quetta and Karachi have been damaged.
The ISPR chief said that there was no threat to the Mirani dam as the water level had started coming down. “Army engineers were still there, keeping an eye on the situation.”
In Sindh, Karachi, Hyderabad, Qambar, Thatta, Badin and Shahdadkot have been badly affected by the rain and floods. In NWFP, Peshawar, Chitral, and Diamir are the affected areas while in Punjab, Toba Tek Singh and Sahiwal were hit by flash floods.
Gen Waheed said the Pakistan Army had evacuated around 10,000 people to safe places in the last two days.
He said that personnel of the Frontier Corps were also assisting the army in rescue and relief operations while the Pakistan Air Force was extending support by undertaking a number of sorties to supply relief goods to the affected people. He said the navy was carrying out similar operations in the coastal areas.
Gen Waheed said 300 people had been accommodated in barracks at Kharan. Around 173 families have been transported to relief camps, while 1,100 families have been shifted to their relatives in Dalbandin.
Road between Turbat and Gwadar was reopened for traffic on Friday while efforts are being made to restore road links between different cities in the province.
He said that eight helicopters were carrying out rescue operations in Turbat, Sibi and the coastal areas, while two C-130 aircraft carrying relief goods had flown to Turbat and Gwadar form Chaklala on early Saturday. Two sorties have flown from Karachi to Pasni and Turbat. A C-130 aircraft carrying relief goods has been despatched to Sibi.
The ISPR chief said that two Pakistan Navy Sea-King helicopters were evacuating people from the coastal highway, while a Fokker carrying equipment and medicines had reached Turbat.
A Pakistan Navy ship has saved two seamen -- one Mexican and one Indian -- who have been drifting in the sea for the past three days.
Gen Waheed said the navy had saved 98 people on June 26 from high seas.
Army relief camps in Sibi and Gwadar are feeding 500 people each. The Army and Frontier Corps have evacuated 4,500 people from Mulaband to Singar in Gwadar. They have also evacuated over 600 families from Turbat. Some 300 families have been evacuated from Bela.
Over 800 people have been shifted by helicopters to safe places at Mithri in Jhal Magsi district.
The ISPR chief said relief camps in Turbat, Naseerabad and Jaffarabad would be set up in the next two days and added that a company of the Engineering Corps had been sent to Shahdadkot in Sindh.
