MITHI: Boxing champ Amir Khan visited Thar on Thursday where he announced the construction of a hospital equipped with state-of-the-art facilities and inaugurated water and power facilities for the drought-hit region.

Additional Deputy Commissioner Thar Muhammad Hussain Baloch told Dawn that the boxer had promised the government support in its efforts to provide facilities to Tharis.

Khan vowed to do all he could to provide clean drinking water to every village in the area and expressed a wish to fund healthcare facilities for each inhabitant.

The Pakistani-origin boxer praised the government's attempts to provide facilities to residents and urged it to take further measures to mitigate the hardships of Tharis by ensuring provision of basic facilities like healthcare, potable water and education, and uphold their basic rights.

Khan also appealed to international bodies to provide relief to the residents of Thar, where an outbreak of disease, malnutrition and drought have claimed the lives of at least 433 children this year according to unofficial reports.

Thar District Health Officer earlier said over 63,500 children suffering various diseases were brought to six health facilities in the district for treatment, while 6,353 were admitted and treated.

PML-N's Dr Ramesh Kumar Vankwani, who holds the provincial government responsible for the 'mess' in Thar, claimed that dozens of dispensaries and health units in remote villages in the region are lying unoperational.

Khan, who was welcomed by village children singing local folk songs, promised residents more frequent visits to the area.