PESHAWAR: Jamaat-i-Islami emir Sirajul Haq has said that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif should seek assistance from international community to provide prompt relief to the people affected by the earthquake.

“If Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif can seek foreign aid for normal activities then he should also seek funds for the quake-hit people, who are spending chilly nights in the open,” he told a press conference at Al-Markaz-i-Islami here on Wednesday.

The JI chief urged both the provincial and federal governments to jointly devise an effective plan to provide relief to the affected people and avoid further losses. He said that provincial government could not meet the needs of the affected people alone.

Mr Siraj said that 271 people were killed in the country and 5,543 houses were destroyed while 8,543 were damaged partially by the earthquake.

Flanked by JI provincial chief Mushtaq Ahmed Khan, Mr Siraj said that his party released Rs200 million for the relief and rehabilitation work and 4,520 volunteers of Al-Khidmat Foundation were assisting the affected families in the earthquake-hit areas.

He said that there were chances of further loss of lives and properties in the affected localities if the rulers failed to respond quickly.

“We have provided tents, tarpaulins, food items, beds and blankets worth millions of rupees to the affected people. The initial work in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Federally Administered Tribal Areas has been initiated with Rs30 million,” said the JI leader.

Recalling the enthusiasm of entire nation in the relief work during the 2005 earthquake, Mr Siraj said that people must show similar gesture to overcome the crisis. He said that JI divided the affected areas into three zones. He said that provincial ministers Inayatullah Khan, Habibur Rehman and Muzaffar Said were supervising relief operation in Dir Upper, Chitral, Buner, Swat, Shangla and Dir Lower.

The elected representatives of local government, the JI chief said, were also assigned duties to keep liaison with the respective ministers in the relief work to mitigate the sufferings of the affected people.

Mr Siraj said that the affected people needed beds and blankets on emergency basis. He said that the entire nation should extend support to the affected people.

He also appreciated doctors for offering their services to visit the affected localities and provide free of cost medical treatment to the injured people.

Published in Dawn, October 29th, 2015

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