Army chief visits flood-hit areas, directs commanders to remain vigilant

During his visit to flood-ravaged Layyah, Gen Raheel says no stone should be left unturned to save lives

Chief of Army Staff Raheel Sharif visited flood-hit areas on Monday, and directed commanders to remain vigilant and employ all resources for a timely response to prevent casualties during the ongoing monsoon season.

In a series of tweets, ISPR Director-General Asim Bajwa said the army chief, during his visit to the flood-ravaged Layyah city in Punjab, said that no stone should be left unturned to save lives.

Directed Comds to remain vigilant,employ all resources 4 timely response.No stone be left unturned 2 save casualties2 pic.twitter.com/FQtQCAMNiu

— Gen(R) Asim Saleem Bajwa (@AsimBajwaISPR) August 3, 2015

He also expressed regret over the devastation, loss of life and properties caused by flooding in the area.

Read: Act first, report later: Gen Raheel directs army flood relief 

General Raheel also met Temporarily Displaced Persons (TDPs), hailing from North Waziristan Agency, in a camp situated in Layyah. The TDPs thanked the army chief for the ongoing military operations to eliminate the terrorists. He assured the TDPs of a safe return to their homes with dignity.

#COAS also met TDPs of NWA in Layya,who thanked COAS 4 successful ops,cleansing area.Assured safe&dignified return-3 pic.twitter.com/4BJmvg64T0

— Gen(R) Asim Saleem Bajwa (@AsimBajwaISPR) August 3, 2015

So far, at least 118 people have been killed and 61 others have been injured as floods continue to ravage different parts of the country, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said on Monday.

Giving a breakdown of the damage caused by the floods, the NDMA said that as many as 59 people have been killed so far in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa — where Chitral is the worst-hit region. As many as 10 people have died from hill torrents and rain related incidents in Balochistan.

Read: CM issues flood alert

Flooding in Punjab has left at least 22 dead, whereas 298,185 people have been affected in the province. As many as 703 houses have been damaged, while 469 villages have been affected.