The EU funding will help get vital assistance to the most vulnerable people to support them during this hard time

Mahnoor Ansar

ISLAMABAD: The European Union is providing €350,000 (nearly PKR 76 million) to provide crucial humanitarian assistance to families affected by severe flooding, which has wreaked havoc across many parts of Pakistan. The aid will focus on addressing the urgent needs of those most affected in some of the hardest-hit districts of Jhal Magsi and Lasbella in the southwestern Pakistani province of Balochistan.

“The devastating floods have left a trail of destruction in Pakistan, causing many to suffer the loss of their homes, livelihoods and belongings,” said Taheeni Thammannagoda, who oversees EU humanitarian programmes in Pakistan. “The EU funding will help get vital assistance to the most vulnerable people to support them during this hard time.”

The assistance will support International Rescue Committee in delivering much-needed assistance. This includes the provision of cash transfers to help flood-stricken families to meet their immediate needs, primary healthcare services, with a focus on water-born and communicable diseases, which are common after a flood, as well as nutrition support.

The programme will also provide psychological support to vulnerable groups such as women, adolescent girls and children.

The EU funding is being made available via the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO) of the European Commission, through its Small Scale Response mechanism.

ISLAMABAD, Aug 23: Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Tuesday adjourned the hearing pertaining to the show cause notice against former Prime Minister Imran Khan in prohibited funding case, until September 6 on the request of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI’s) counsel.                                            

A four member bench headed by the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja heard the case.   

PTI’s Assistant counsel Naveed Anjum pleaded the case in the Election Commission and sought two week time for submitting a detailed response. He said, he required some time as a lot of documents have to be collected for onward annexation with the reply before the ECP.

CEC said PTI lawyers have been the part of entire process and they must have the necessary documents. Naveed Anjum replied that he has to collect the documents from foreign chapters. It merits mentioning here that the ECP in its verdict contended that PTI had received funds from 351 companies and 34 nationals including US Indian businesswomen. ECP in its show cause warned PTI that why the prohibited funds it received should not be forfeited. 

The ECP in its verdict says, the matter falls within the ambit of Article 17(3) of the Constitution of Pakistan, Article 6(3) and Article 2(c)(iii) of PPO, 2002. Hence, the Commission directs that a notice may be issued to the respondent party in terms of Rule-6 of PPR, 2002 as to why the aforementioned prohibited funds may not be confiscated.

The concerned is also directed to initiate any other action under the law, in the light of this order of the Commission, including forwarding the case to the federal government.

WASHINGTON, Aug 23: The United States, reacting to the charges brought against former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan under the anti-terrorism act, has called for the peaceful upholding of democratic, constitutional and legal principles.

“We’re, of course, aware of the reports about the charges,” the department Spokesman, Ned Price, said Monday in answer to a question about the case filed against Imran Khan.

“This is a matter for the Pakistani legal and judicial system,” the spokesman said, adding, “It is not directly a matter for the United States, and that’s because we don’t have a position on one political candidate or party versus any other political candidate or party.”

 “We support the peaceful upholding of democratic, constitutional, and legal principles in Pakistan and around the world,” Price added.

DNA

ISLAMABAD, The government on Monday decided to hold a donors’ conference for the rehabilitation of flood affected areas of the country.

The decision was taken in a meeting of relevant officials held here with Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif in chair to review the progress of relief and rehabilitation measures in the flood affected areas.

Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb, Minister for Climate Change Sherry Rehman, Advisor to PM Ahad Cheema, Member Provincial Assembly Punjab Awais Leghari, Chairman National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Lt. Gen. Akhtar Nawaz and relevant senior officials attended the meeting.

The prime minister said that the international institutions should be briefed about the devastation caused by floods in the country as well as the ongoing relief and rehabilitation efforts by the federal and provincial governments.

He also appealed the philanthropists to generously contribute in the Prime Minister’s Flood Relief Fund.

The prime minister directed to immediately dispatch 40,000 tents and 100,000 ration packets to the flood affected areas and take measures for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of flood-hit areas.

The prime minister also directed all the institutions concerned to speed up the process of relief and rehabilitation in the flood affected areas on emergency basis.

From Our Correspondent 

PESHAWAR, AUG 22 /DNA/ – The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has declared emergency in flood hit areas of Dera Ismail Khan, Upper Chitral, Lower Chitral, and Upper Kohistan Districts. On the special directives of Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Mahmood Khan, provincial Relief and Rehabilitation Department has issued formal notifications to this end.

Meanwhile, the chief minister while hinting at visiting the flood affected districts has said that he would soon visit the flood hit districts to look into the damages caused by flash floods and rehabilitation activities carried out by the administration adding that he would announce package for the rehabilitation of flood affected infrastructure in those districts. The chief minister directed the quarters concerned to expedite relief and rehabilitation activities and ensure provision of food items and other stuff of daily use to each and every flood affected household.

He further said that he is monitoring the flood situation, and is in contact with concerned administrations. Mahmood Khan said that the concerned district administrations had been asked for damages assessment reports to review the damages caused by floods adding that necessary directives have also been issued to quarters concerned for rehabilitation of damaged infrastructure. He assured that the provincial government would go all out to provide relief to the affected people adding that all available resources would be utilized to this end.