Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif during a visit to Sujawal district of Sindh on Saturday expressed the resolve to overcome flood related issues with collective efforts.
He made the remarks during a visit to Sujawal district of Sindh on Saturday where representatives of concerned departments briefed him about the devastation caused by the calamity.
The Prime Minister said the entire country is badly affected with flash floods due to incessant monsoon rains.
He said the heavy downpours in the season has caused human losses, damaged road and infrastructure across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan.
He said a collective policy will be framed in collaboration with the provinces for the relief and rehabilitation of flood affected people.
On the occasion, Shehbaz Sharif also appreciated the efforts of the Chief Minister Sindh, administration and the armed forces for their rescue and relief operations in these areas.
Later, talking to the affected people, the Prime Minister said the federal government has allocated a grant of 38 billion rupees to support each flood affected family with disbursement of 25,000 rupees.
He said a grant of 15 billion rupees has already provided to Sindh province while the distribution of flood relief amount among each family has also commenced in Sindh province under Benazir Income Support Programme.
Shehbaz Sharif said with the support of National Disaster Management Authority and other relevant departments, the federal government will continue to support the provincial governments in the rescue, relief and rehabilitation efforts.
He said that a combined survey would be completed soon which would enable them to get an estimate of the damages and losses caused by floods across the country.
The Prime Minister said politics over the agreement with International Monetary Fund could cause irreparable damage to Pakistan as an IMF board is scheduled to hold a meeting on Monday
The diplomatic missions of the US and the UK in Türkiye separately hailed Ankara for efforts to resume export of Ukrainian grain stuck for months due to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict.
The first grain-laden ship to leave Ukraine since the conflict with Russia began on February 24 continues to sail to Lebanon after Wednesday's inspection by a team from the Joint Coordination Center (JCC) in Istanbul.
“We welcome the arrival of the cargo ship Razoni in Istanbul today as a vital step towards mitigating the global food security crisis. We applaud Türkiye for its diplomacy to ensure safe passage of grain from Ukraine to global markets,” the US consulate general in Istanbul said on Twitter.
The Sierra Leone-flagged cargo ship Razoni, carrying over 26,500 tons of corn, anchored off the Turkish coast near the Black Sea entrance of the Istanbul Strait on Tuesday night for joint inspections. It departed from Ukraine's port of Odesa on Monday under a historic deal brokered by Ankara last month.
The inspections lasted over an hour, and after getting a security clearance in Istanbul, the ship passed through the Turkish Straits en route to the port of Tripoli in Lebanon.
READ MORE: First Ukrainian grain ship leaves Istanbul for Lebanon
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMdh85SBxec[/embed]
Diplomatic success
Separately, in his first video message in Türkiye, Ajay Sharma, British Embassy’s Chargé d'Affaires, said the Ukraine grain deal was only possible because of the diplomatic efforts led by Türkiye and the UN.
“We, as the UK, attach great importance and support to this agreement. This diplomatic success is indeed crucial to eliminating the threat to food security and ending the grain blockade of Ukraine,” Sharma added.
He said the UK will continue to support the implementation of the agreement as it is in the world's interest.
Türkiye, the UN, Russia, and Ukraine signed the deal on July 22 to reopen three Ukrainian ports – Odessa, Chernomorsk, and Yuzhny – for grain export.
The JCC opened on July 27 comprising representatives from Türkiye, the UN, Russia, and Ukraine to enable safe transportation by merchant ships of commercial foodstuffs and fertilizers from the three key Ukrainian Black Sea ports.
READ MORE: Ukraine grain deal is a product of Ankara's diplomatic success: Erdogan
Source: AA
Türkiye has voiced concerns over Germany's counter-terrorism efforts and said it expects concrete steps.
"We see an increase in (terrorist) PKK activities in Germany, and have conveyed Türkiye's concerns ... we expect concrete action," Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told a joint press conference with his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock in Istanbul on Friday.
Cavusoglu said Türkiye expects its allies to support its anti-terror efforts rather than just saying "we understand your concerns."
Türkiye expects the European Union to lift political obstacles for its membership in the bloc, Cavusoglu said, and also conveyed Ankara's apprehensions over rising xenophobia and anti-Muslim sentiment in Europe.
Cavusoglu on Greek pushbacks of migrants:
- Greek propoganda shouldn't lead to imbalance
— TRT World Now (@TRTWorldNow) July 29, 2022
- Frontex is complicit in Greek migrants pushbacks
- Greece not able to respond to int law pic.twitter.com/lrYNcKCpiE
On Greek propaganda
Cavusoglu urged Germany to be wary of provocations and propaganda by Greece and the Greek Cypriot administration, stressing for the need for a balanced stance.
Arguing that Germany lost its impartiality, Cavusoglu said: "Germany should keep its balanced attitude regarding the Aegean and East Mediterranean."
The Turkish minister said that turning a blind eye to Greece's human rights abuses is violation of international law.
"Greece's pushbacks, leaving people to die does not amount to protecting EU borders. It is inhumane to turn a blind eye ... I would've respected if the minister (Baerbock) mentioned about European Convention on Human Rights' decisions that have not been implemented in Greece for 14 years (on Turkish minority)," Cavusoglu said.
The top Turkish diplomat also mentioned Greek militarisation of Eastern Aegean islands, and lambasted Germany for siding with Athens "just because it is an EU member."
She also called praised the recent Ankara-brokered Ukraine grain deal, saying it was a "great success."
READ MORE: Germany's remarks on Ankara-Athens relations ‘unacceptable’: Türkiye
Source: TRTWorld and agencies
