ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has pledged full support to the Sindh government in assisting people suffering from severe shortages of food, water and medicines in large areas of the southern province’s Tharparkar district, DawnNews reported.

In a statement issued on Saturday, the prime minister said all available resources should be brought to use in order to assist the large numbers of women nursing their sick children and hungry people waiting for food in villages.

The federal government would extend all possible assistance to the Sindh government in this regard, the statement said, adding that the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and other departments were keeping him apprised of the situation.

The army was also dispatching relief goods and organising medical camps in the district’s affected areas.

As many as 23 children have died in the villages of Tharparkar since the start of February, Kamran Zia, NDMA’s chief spokesman, said Saturday.

He said it was unclear whether the children died from a shortage of food or medical problems. The region is experiencing lower-than-average rainfall.

Imdad Ali Keerio, the spokesman for the top elected official in the province, said investigators were also trying to determine who was responsible for delays in sending food and medicine to the area.