“A national committee on prevention of floods is the need of the hour to propose measures to prevent floods and mitigate losses in the future,” the premier said while speaking at a ceremony in Wazirabad.
PM Nawaz accompanied by Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif visited Wazirabad today to distribute the first installment of Rs25,000 cash assistance among flood victims.
“Pakistan lacks resources to counter natural calamities,” the premier solemnly admitted, adding that the government is facing a tough time deciding how to allocate money between those displaced due to the ongoing Operation Zarb-e-Azb in North Waziristan, on the provision of health and electricity and on the rehabilitation of flood victims.
“Helping flood victims is the obligation of the government and we will not sit at ease till the time the last flood victim is compensated,” Nawaz reiterated.
PM Nawaz further said the government is working on rescue and relief operations and rehabilitation of the victims is the government’s top priority.
The premier thanked Punjab CM Shahbaz Sharif for his "tireless" efforts in rescue and relief operations.
Floods wreaked havoc this year claiming 359 lives in Punjab, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir and affecting over 1.7 million people, according to the National Disaster Management Authority.
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Where there is a will there is a way. Where there is no will there is no way.
@Uzma:
It is not the :"corrupt system" that is fully responsible for the economic ills that you point out. The real issue is one of national priorities. Pakistan is a declared security state with the consequence that the priority has been given to maintaining a huge military with nukes, missiles and other toys to support the expansionist and aggressive geopolitical goals.
Remember the national vision "we will eat grass to get nukes and Kashmir and inflict 1000 cuts on India in a 1000 year war"? Executing such a policy is not free, it has its own cost which is now being borne by every Pakistani reflected in the increase in the cost of living.
"“Pakistan lacks resources to counter natural calamities,” the premier solemnly admitted"*
Really? Pakistan has all the resources necessary to help its citizen in times of calamities. The only issue is that human and social development has never been a priority for Pakistan. Pakistan has chosen to spend a disproportionate portion of its resources and national wealth on a huge military, military toys, missiles and nuclear weapons.
Even during the 2005 earthquake, when Pakistan received aid donations of $3 billion dollars from foreign countries, Musharraf spent the money on Swedish radars, fighter jets, missises and other military hardware. Hardly any of that $3B reached the victims of the earthquake.
So, it is a question of priority and not lack of resources.
How can the government focus on common mans problems when they themselves are busy in saving the corrupt system. cant you see that common man cannot pay their ELECTRICITY BILLS anymore because the increase is out of reach and due to this there has been substantial increase in other basic commodities as well. Just open your eyes all who are supporting the government and system, if a common man on daily basis buys small amount of food just for one meal for 4 person and in the same manner buys tea and sugar and milk just for one time usage and live in a 2 room house with 2 lights and fans, the approximate figure comes to 15000/month. so if he needs this much for living on daily basis than how can he cover the education of just say 2kids for-example. Just grow up and stop supporting the system which is wrong. . Only Few (Few families) have profited from the system. they are using tax money for there own luxurious trips and life style. We need early election and kick these criminals out of the parliament and lets give them a shut up call, once and for all.
@aqsa: Really?? Then how you manage to spend Rs 800000 per day in New York? Aren’t you a PM of a poor country whose 60% population lives below poverty line? aqsa Ji : It would be interesting if you can find out the Price of Indian Prime Minister Modi's Room at the NEW YORK PALACE HOTEL. Cheers
“Pakistan lacks resources to counter natural calamities,” the premier solemnly admitted, adding that the government is facing a tough time deciding how to allocate money between those displaced due to the ongoing Operation Zarb-e-Azb in North Waziristan, on the provision of health and electricity and on the rehabilitation of flood victims." If this is so then then will you explain Nawaz Sharif that 1-Why don't you,president,ministers and bureaucrats leave VVIP and the most expensive foolproof security protocol during your visits of the different cities within Pakistan? 2-Why do you stay abroad in the most expensive hotels during your foreign tours and spend billions of Rupees and why did you stay in the most expensive hotel in New York @8000$/day during your stay in New York for attending UNGA's conference? 3-Why don't you,president and all the ministers live simply in the small houses instead of large and luxurious official houses? 4-Why don't you,president,ministers and lead simple life instead of luxurious and kingly on the tax money of poor and common Pakistani people? and in the last 5-Why did you spend 25.90 Crore Rupees on your useless 14 foreign tours within your first 12 months' regime? Please leave this bad habit of giving the hypocritical statements if you can't make yours and all the other officials' life styles simple.......
Didn't Pakistan recently make big noise about how India not letting Pakistan come in and help the Kashmiris flood victims on the Indian side?
Wrong Statement by PM. Where were government when Pakistan Meteorological Department declared flood warning a month ago ?
The next thing this dishonest PM and PML-N MNA's will say is the floods were caused by PTI workers.
Please stop the lies...while the national was suffering in pain during the floods...PM stayed in the most high class rooms of one the most expensive hotels in the world in New York where 800,000 PKR per day was charged to national treasury.
Shame on the PM and all his government members!
I have a suggestion; perhaps a national committee should to be formed to educate these politicians. It seems Pakistan is stuck with these incompetent and corrupt politicians. A committee consisting of smart ordinary Pakistani citizens can have a crash program for politicians. Put these politicians in a class and teach them how to govern and how to utilize resources effectively. I am sure some expatriates or UN based organization can also help in this regard.
Because all the resources are diverted to pay for lifafa journalism, cheap publicity, laptop schemes, metro buses and so on. You have money for showbazi projects, your palaces and for your cronies but not for the poor people. At the end, let's say it together: Go Nawaz Go
The day Pakistan's leaders stop lying, bold enough to accept their mistakes will be the day that Pakistan's fortunes will turn for the better. This requires guts which most of our leaders don't have as they have gotten used to getting and staying in power by hook or by crook.
GO NAWAZ GO and bring back all the money you looted from this country to make prosperous Pakistan. Just give it a test if you are a true patriotic Pakistani or do not ever talk alike. Iqbal Hadi Zaidi
“We(Pakistan) will eat grass, even go hungry, but we will get one of our own (Atom bomb).... We have no other choice!”
― Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
Pakistan lacks vision only. And that is because you are the leader.
and you were offering help to India. What if they accepted the offer and asked for help?
Sorry that PM Nawaz is saying this. Pakistan only lacks WILL, VISION, qualified LEADERSHIP to overcome all issues and problems. Bad illiterate leadership has been adding to the country's problems for decades
According to press reports, while speaking at a ceremony in Wazirabad, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif admitted that the government lacked the resources to counter natural calamities but nevertheless suggested that formation of a 'National Committee on Prevention of Floods' is the need of the hour to propose measures to prevent floods and mitigate losses in the future. Reading the report, one would get the impression that perhaps it was the first time that we had floods in Pakistan which caught the government unprepared.
And there is no real need to form another committee because we already have a National Disaster Management Authority, which could also have dealt with floods. Unfortunately, this high-sounding authority works on a small annual budget of Rs.160 million as against an annual allocation of Rs. 770 million made for PM's residence, as disclosed by Dr. Farrukh Saleem in his article 'Purana Pakistan' published in The News on September 28, 2014.
And giving the details of some relief measures being taken for flood affectees, PM further said " The government is facing a tough time deciding how to allocate money between those displaced due to the ongoing Operation Zarb-e-Azb in North Waziristan, on the provision of health and electricity and on the rehabilitation of flood victims". However, I suppose the government would have had no problem allocating money for PM and President's House, and PM's frequent travelling, in great style, within and outside Pakistan.
Learning the details of the massive corruption of our leaders through print and electronic media, especially Mubashir Lucman's programme 'Khara Sach' one can't help thinking that perhaps our high officials are the worst natural calamity for the country. Just as well that Dr. Tahirul Qadri and Imran Khan are trying to rid the country of this biggest natural calamity which has virtually destroyed Pakistan.
Karachi
Completely agree......all its resources are in your and Zardari's banks.
yes Pakistan lacks resources whe people like you ruling....you spend 8000 dollars per night for 26 mins.speech in UNO session
@goggi (Lahore): Well, scrap dealers of hardware, which was left-over and snatched from the Soviet forces in Afghanistan could make millions, if not billions, purely because the Mujahideen sellers did not know the value of the "scrap" they were selling because they could not convert it to useful purpose as the foundry runners could. Besides, the Sharif family predates scrap buying of the 1980s as it ran foundries with roaring success. Do not envy just do hard work. Anyone, with hard work, knack, and good luck can make billions. You want to try?
If an ordinary scrap dealer family can become a multitrillion-dollar family ,above all, in a country where people are forced to live far below the poverty line, then it is even a bigger miaracle than the Pyarmids of Egypt or Taj Mahal in India! One stands utterly amazed in front of these monuments, sanctuaries and mysterious pyramids and ask her- himself, "HOW did they just accomplish it???"
Really? We lack resources? How come then you are staying in most expensive hotels and travelling from Lahore to Islamabad using public funds? Building useless Metro Bus projects worth billions when you could have used that money towards building reservoirs, dams and protecting river beds from breaching the flood water. But your priorities are to make maximum money and waste as much resources you can because you know that you won't get elected again in Naya Pakistan. Its time for you to resign and accept your incompetency to run country like Pakistan.
Pakistan lacks only one thing, a sincere leadership who doesn't make a fool out of its supporters and actually works for the betterment and not fire people from their jobs who voiced against them. Pakistan could have been a great country had it leaders even like the ones in India.
But Pakistan has sufficient resources to put its PM in Waldorf Astoria hotel at $8000/night for a useless trip that did not achieve anything !!!
And so our parliament lacks honesty and integrity. GO NAWAZ GO
You are right Mr PM:
Pakistan lacks resources for natural clamities because these resources are spent of metro busses and fake power plants instead! Lets all go for a ride on that thing instead of saving the vulnerable..Perhaps, stop touring around the world and use those resources for crisis management? Some prefrences you have...
Thanks
But we do have ample financial resources for building Metro buses in Lahore, Islamabad, Multan?
If i were him, i would fire all my advisors and the team that formulates my press addresses. With such statements Mr. Shareef exposes himself to criticism and becomes a soft target for opposition. What resources is he referring to? On one hand he can spent 50bn from the same pool of budget, on a city's infra which is really not that far-off from having best infrastructure in the region, let alone the country and on the other hand he stresses shortage of resources. There is nothing 50bn can't buy, just matter of priorities. So someone at the top of N-league really needs to think, or re-think for that matter, long and hard before releasing such statements
So Mr PM , your experienced team which has been ruling Punjab for decades and have witnessed devastating floods every few year did not any plans before this calamity hit.
"PM Nawaz accompanied by Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif visited Wazirabad today to distribute the first installment of Rs25,000 cash assistance among flood victims."
Very efficient sir, it took you weeks before any assistance was provided to poor people.
The natural reaction when anything goes wrong in pakistan: make a committee.
Flood prevention is the responsibility of the government.It has the resources to prevent and control it.There is no need of a national committee on this.The recent floods were self created and could have been easily prevented.
Our Pakistan doesn't lack anything. It's just a matter of sincere intention to utilize these resources. Implement and use them to benefit the people of our country instead of other places.
No PM sb there are a lot of resources thats why you and your brother spending it on purposeless projects like Metro, Laptop and Danish School also awarding 100BLN to your beloved daughter. The question is only priority of rulers. Rulers never think for common man and their miseries as they don't understand public sufferings.
Really?? Then how you manage to spend Rs 800000 per day in New York? Aren't you a PM of a poor country whose 60% population lives below poverty line?