ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has vowed to ensure fast track payment of compensation to the quake affected people to mitigate their sufferings.

Addressing the quake affected people in Timergara, he said it is our utmost effort to provide compensation cheques to the calamity hit people at the earliest so that the victims could rebuild their houses.

Deploring the loss of precious lives in the calamity, the premier said the relief package prepared in consultation with the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government is aimed at reducing the sufferings of the affected families.

He said the victims have also been provided with tents, blankets and ration to lessen their problems multiplied by the cold weather particularly at the hilltops.

Nawaz Sharif appreciated the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government and Pakistan Army for timely completing the survey of fully damaged and partially damaged houses.

He said he will again visit the areas following the reconstruction of damaged houses.

Later, Nawaz distributed compensation cheques amongst the quake affected people of Timergara.

No compromise on security of Chinese workforce: PM

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Monday directed the interior ministry to beef up the security for the Chinese workforce busy working on numerous development projects in Pakistan including the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

Chairing a meeting to review the progress on the development of projects under CPEC at Prime Minister House, Nawaz Sharif directed the interior ministry to take all possible measures to ensure safety of Chinese workforce adding that no laxity shall be tolerated in this regard.

The PM vowed to personally review the pace and progress of the projects through a core team and directed the concerned authorities to update project benchmarks on monthly as well as quarterly basis for the supervision by him.

“The officers and officials who would not deliver in terms of timely completion of the project will not be part of our team,” Nawaz warned.

Related: China-Pakistan corridor: Visibility of the game changer

The PM reiterated that the CPEC will prove to be a game changer and would prove helpful in reducing poverty and generation of employment opportunities across the country.

The CPEC is a 15-year project between Pakistan and China with a planned portfolio of projects totalling around $45 billion, the programme has two main components.

It plans to develop a new trade and transport route from Kashgar in China to the Gwadar Port.

Also Read: All efforts will be made for CPEC’s success, says army chief

The other component envisages developing special economic zones along the route, including power projects.

The first-phase projects will receive $45.69bn in concessionary and commercial loans, for which financial facilitation to the Chinese companies is being arranged by the Silk Road Fund.

These include $33.79bn for energy projects, $5.9bn for roads, $3.69bn for railway network, $1.6bn for Lahore Mass Transit, $66m for Gwadar Port and a fibre optic project worth $4m.