PM Gilani Says, Govt¡¯s Top Priority To Provide Shelter To Displaced

Pakistan News: PM Gilani Said on Monday that the top priority of his government was to provide shelter and tents to the people displaced due to the heavy floods. Talking to Professor Dr. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, Secretary General of Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC) here at the Prime Minister House he said his government was planning to offer cash compensation to the affected people for rebuilding their damaged or destroyed houses after the flood water receded. As the cash compensation? involves an amount of approximately US $ three billion, the international community, Islamic world in particular, should expedite their assistance to help Pakistan implement this plan, he added.

The Prime Minister appreciated the OIC Secretary General's gesture of expressing solidarity with the flood victims by visiting Pakistan and for mobilizing assistance from the Muslim world for them.

The Prime Minister thanked the Secretary General for convening the Emergency Coordination Meeting of relief organizations of OIC countries in Islamabad during which pledges of US $ one billion, including the assistance of US $ 5 � 7 million were made.

He also noted, with appreciation, the fact that the OIC Secretary General has earlier convened the Emergency Meeting of permanent representatives of OIC countries in Jeddah to sensitize the member states and create better awareness among them about the magnitude and scale of destruction and losses caused by this natural catastrophe.

The Prime Minister hoped that OIC efforts would soon be translated into practical support as time was the most important factor in the relief and rehabilitation efforts of his government.

The Prime Minister while assuring the OIC Secretary General of his government's full support to his proposals for establishing an OIC Emergency Disaster Response Fund to help member states in case of such natural disasters.

He underlined the need for OIC's focus on using its influence with Saudi Development Funds, Kuwait Development Fund and similar funds of the Gulf and other Muslim countries to help Pakistan in its rehabilitation and reconstruction phases.

The OIC Secretary General conveyed his heartfelt condolences and commensuration to the Prime Minister on the losses of lives and extensive damage to the properties and physical infrastructure caused by the floods and assured the Prime Minister that OIC will do whatever is possible to help Pakistan in this hour of need.

Dr. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu stated that his visit to flood the affected area of Rajanpur in the morning had further strengthened his impression that while the government of Pakistan was making organized efforts and was in control of the flood situation, yet it needed urgent assistance to cope up with this unprecedented devastation.

The Secretary General said that he had impressed upon the relief organizations of Muslim countries that destruction and losses of Pakistan's floods was far greater than the combined damages caused by Tsunami, earthquake of 2005 in Pakistan and Haiti last year, therefore, contributions and help should also be corresponding with the scale.

Noting the Prime Minister's top present priority for providing tents and shelters to displaced persons, Dr. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu said OIC would try to generate funds for urgent procurement of tents from wherever possible for their urgent delivery to the government of Pakistan. He said that as head of this organization, he considers it a duty to mobilize Muslim Ummah for helping their Pakistani brethren in distress and hence would undertake every effort possible to galvanize Muslim world's support for Pakistan in these trying times.

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