PESHAWAR: The government in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Thursday declared an emergency in the Swat district, officials said, with more than 1,000 tourists stranded after massive floods washed away roads and key infrastructure in several areas.
Heavy monsoon rains in Pakistan have claimed lives of 937 people and, according to the government, impacted 30 million people in the country. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday briefed ambassadors, high commissioners and senior members of the diplomatic corps on the “scale of human tragedy” brought about by floods.
The government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province has declared an emergency in Swat to carry out relief activities after flood waters swept away multiple homes, hotels and road infrastructure in the scenic district.
“The state of emergency will be in effect until August 30 for relief efforts in flood-affected areas of Swat,” the provincial government said in a statement.
Ishaq Ahmad, assistant commissioner of Bahrain tehsil, told Arab News around 1,000-1,200 tourists were stranded in Bahrain, Kalam and Madyan areas after flood waters damaged roads connecting these spots with Mingora, the main town in Swat.
“Tourists are being given free food and accommodation at hotels. We are assessing damages but there is still continuous downpour and we are asking communities living on river banks to shift to safer places,” Ahmad said.
“Flash floods washed away the sprawling Honeymoon-I and Honeymoon-II hotels that were popular among tourists.”
Sardar Ali, a university student from Peshawar, said he and his four friends returned from Swat on Friday and that they saw hundreds of tourists stranded in Kalam after roads were damaged by powerful hill torrents.
“Hundreds of tourists are still in Kalam, Madyan and other parts of Swat. We were getting free food and accommodation for two days in Kalam,” Ali said.
“We managed to come back today, facing unspeakable problems on a hectic journey. We covered half of the four-hour journey in a passenger vehicle and the rest by foot. We will never take the risk of traveling to tourist destinations in the monsoon season again.”
Sod Khan Yousafzai, owner of the Kalam Inn hotel, said tourists were welcome to come and stay at his establishment for free. “I had 35 tourists the other day. I asked my hotel staff to refund all their payments,” he added.
According to the National Disaster Management Authority’s (NDMA) data, 343 children and 198 women were among the 937 people killed in the country since the onset of monsoon season in mid-June.
Disastrous floods have cut off the Balochistan province in Pakistan’s southwest and the northern Gilgit-Baltistan region from the rest of the country.
Salman Sufi, the head of prime minister’s strategic reforms unit, said the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) would ensure all cellular companies provide free outgoing call facility to people in flood-affected areas.
“On PM @CMShehbaz directions, @PTAofficialpk will ensure all mobile companies will provide outgoing call facility even with ZERO balance in all flood affected areas,” Sufi said on Twitter.
“This will significantly help reaching emergency services and relief efforts.”
Pakistan President Arif Alvi has appealed to the masses, international community and overseas Pakistanis to come to the aid of flood victims, who are in dire need of rescue, relief and rehabilitation.
“Unprecedented rains and resultant floods had damaged standing crops, affected roads, bridges and embankments, and disrupted communication and transportation infrastructure, making rescue and relief efforts an uphill task,” the president said in a statement.
PM Sharif visited the flood-hit Sukkur city in the southern Sindh province on Friday, where he promised that all political parties, which were part of the ruling coalition, would join hands to resolve the flood crisis.
“Now is not the time for politics, it is time to serve,” PM Sharif, who was accompanied by Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, told reporters in Sukkur. “Right now, we should talk about serving people.”
After widespread devastation caused by floods in many parts of the country, especially Sindh and Balochistan provinces, the international community has also stepped up efforts to provide assistance to Pakistan.
