ISLAMABAD: Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah met Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Chief of the Army Staff Gen Raheel Sharif separately here on Monday and handed over two cheques for Rs50 million each for persons displaced from North Waziristan.

“The chief minister met Gen Raheel at the General Headquarters today and presented him a cheque for Rs50m on behalf of the government of Sindh for the IDPs,” a military spokesman said.

Mr Shah expressed his solidarity with the displaced people and said the provincial government would provide all possible help for their wellbeing. “The chief minister reaffirmed full support of the people of Sindh for the armed forces and the operation Zarb-i-Azb,” the spokesman said.

The chief minister presented another cheque for Rs50m to Mr Sharif during a meeting at the Prime Minister’s House. According to APP, Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly Syed Khurshid Shah and PPP leader Zamurd Khan attended the meeting.

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Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Pervez Khattak praised the Sindh government’s gesture.

Meanwhile, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on Monday that 36,804 families comprising 456,292 people had been registered as IDPs, but most of them were living with their relatives in Bannu, Dera Ismail Khan and Lakki Marwat. Only a few hundred IDPs decided to live in camps set up for them.

Six points have been established in Bannu, D.I. Khan and Tank for distribution of ration and grants and each family is being given Rs15,000 cash and one month’s ration by the army.

Of the registered IDPs, 221,000 have been immunised against polio and 32 relief collection points have been set up in different cities.

Published in Dawn, July 1st, 2014