PESHAWAR, Oct 27: Provincial secretary-general of the Jamaat-i-Islami, Mushtaq Ahmad Khan, has stressed the need for coordinated efforts to expedite relief work in the quake-hit areas.

Speaking at a news conference here on Thursday, he criticized the arrival of Nato forces and said there was no need for foreign troops for rescue work.

“We have enough resources and manpower and as such we are capable to assist our ill-fated brethren. If foreign countries really want to assist Pakistan, they should provide what is needed,” said Mr Mushtaq.

Deploring the lack of coordination between the government and volunteers in relief work going on in the calamity-hit areas, Mr Mushtaq said it was a matter of deep concern people were braving starvation while living in the open. It was due to mismanagement, he added.

He rebutted government claims about providing enough tents to the homeless people, he said the number of tents provided by the government would not be over 10,000, adding that people were crying for shelter but there was no one to listen to their problems.

“Jamaat’s Al-khidmat Foundation has provided about 3,000 tents while it has ordered 4,000 more tents, but these were still not enough as the scale of the devastation rquires a lot more,” the JI leader said.

About the role of provincial government, he said that except for the health department, the rest of the provincial administration was existed nowhere to mitigate the people sufferings.

Mr Mushtaq told the press that foreign donors and relief teams were leaving the affected areas due to the lack of coordination between army and volunteers and mismanagement by the government.