ISLAMABAD, Oct 18: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has made it clear that there would be no permission to adopt children presently admitted to hospitals or those who have lost their parents.

Addressing parliamentarians at a briefing arranged at the Prime Minister’s Secretariat on Tuesday, the prime minister said after necessary treatment injured children are being kept in centres.

He lauded the unprecedented spirit demonstrated by the people of Pakistan in responding to the challenge and said it is because of our concerted efforts that the situation has started improving in the affected areas of Azad Kashmir and the NWFP.

Mr Aziz said provision of tents remains the top priority to provide temporary accommodation to the affected people ahead of approaching winter.

He said a world-wide alert has been issued and NATO aircraft would be bringing tents to Pakistan wherever found in the world.

He informed parliamentarians that a decision had been taken to provide beddings to the affected people and the Government of Punjab would provide one million quilts for the purpose. Of these, 22,000 were received yesterday and 25,000 today.

He said container police stations had been despatched to Azad Kashmir to ensure law and order there. “In addition, about 800 policemen have also been sent there to assist in maintenance of law and order.”

He said that 24 more helicopters would soon join the existing fleet and with this there would be no problem of logistics.

The prime minister said steel or tent schools and hospitals would also be set up in the affected areas, and added that the Azad Jammu and Kashmir government was shifting Muzaffarabad university students to Mirpur.

He expressed confidence that working together, the people of Pakistan, the Pakistan Army and government agencies would overcome the consequences of the earthquake disaster.

Earlier, Federal Relief Commissioner Major-General Farooq Ahmad Khan briefed the parliamentarians about the latest situation.

He said according to the latest figures, 41,121 people have been killed and 67,634 injured and the figures could go higher.

He said so far 1,300 helicopter sorties have been run. He said over 453 tons of medicines, 229 tons of water, about 33,000 tents and 138,000 blankets have been sent to the affected areas. He said four US mobile hospitals would soon be sent to Pakistan.

He said the Punjab Government has sent 3,374 truck loads of goods while the Punjab Police has provided 602 load-carrying vehicles to the Relief Commission, and added that Sindh provided 200 tons of relief goods and Balochistan 3,053 tents and 11,294 blankets.

The members of the Parliament were also informed about the ban placed on the export of tents with immediate effect.

The briefing, besides PML President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and some federal ministers, was also attended by a few parliament members belonging to the opposition, including Qari Gul Rahman and Qazi Fayyazur Rahman.

The two opposition MNAs, while talking to Dawn before attending the briefing, said they had come here as they did not want to play any political games over the earthquake disaster.