PESHAWAR: Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Muhammad Sohail Afridi, chaired a high-level meeting of the Relief, Rehabilitation, and Settlement Department via video link, where he issued strict directives to formulate a comprehensive contingency plan for the upcoming summer season to combat potential cloudbursts and flash floods.
The Chief Minister said the urgency of implementing long-term, effective measures at sensitive locations to prevent flood-related disasters. In a significant move to reduce risks, the meeting decided to launch a massive anti-encroachment campaign targeting river beds and major cities across the province immediately after Ramadan.
During the session, CM Afridi gave in-principle approval for the resources needed to ensure timely compensation payments to flood victims and Temporarily Displaced Persons (TDPs), while seeking specific details to remove existing bottlenecks in the disbursement process across various districts. To strengthen the province’s emergency response infrastructure, the Chief Minister ordered the immediate completion of the recruitment process for 1,326 posts in Rescue 1122 and approved the creation of an additional 1,125 posts for the second phase. He further directed the department to establish a modern digital dashboard for the efficient management of human resources and assets, aiming for a phased digitisation of all departmental affairs.
The meeting also moved to establish relief warehouses at all divisional headquarters to guarantee the swift supply of materials during emergencies. Instructions were given to convene the Provincial Disaster Management Commission and prepare a detailed working paper to streamline these efforts. As part of a broader expansion strategy, Rescue 1122 offices are set to reach every tehsil in the province by 2027. Notably, work is nearing completion on a pioneering five-year disaster risk reduction and provincial disaster management plan, which will make Khyber Pakhtunkhwa the first province in the country to implement such an extensive and structured framework.
