LAHORE: The Pakistan Ulema Council (PUC) on Friday called for convening an All Parties Conference on the prevailing flood situation in the country.

Addressing a press conference, PUC chairman Hafiz Tahir Mahmood Ashrafi said all political and religious parties should pool financial and human resources to deal with the calamity. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif should call the APC to help flood victims and Chief Minister Parvez Elahi should also play his role.

“We thank Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE for the announcement of financial support and investment in the country,” said Ashrafi, who is also Special Representative to Prime Minister on Religious Harmony and Middle East.

“The Arab-Islamic countries are friends of the people of Pakistan,” he said and added that Islamic countries should not get involved in the internal political situation of the country. “The prime minister and his delegation did not meet any Israeli during the recent visit of Qatar. The stance of the state of Pakistan is very clear on the issue of Palestine and no one can change it,” he said.

“The current flood situation is more disastrous than the past floods and natural calamities. Pakistan alone cannot deal with this situation, where millions of people are affected across the country. Philanthropists and international community should come forward to help those caught in the calamity,” he demanded.

YDA: The Young Doctors Association’s Punjab chapter has announced that mobile medical camps will be set up in the flood-hit southern areas of the province.

Talking to media persons at the Children’s Hospital here on Friday, YDA Punjab President Dr Mudassar Nawaz warned that the chances of an outbreak of the viral diseases in the wake of the massive flood have increased manifold.

He said the families stranded in the flood-hit areas required emergency medical aid to avoid viral diseases.

Published in Dawn, August 27th, 2022