Daily Times

Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Professor Ahsan Iqbal on Monday directed all relevant ministries to identify and bridge the gaps and obstacles hindering flood-resilient projects, saying, “These must be addressed with zero tolerance for delays.”

Chairing the 4th meeting of the Policy and Strategy Committee (PSC) and the Oversight Board on Post-Flood Reconstruction Activities, he also instructed that incomplete PC-I documents should be returned within 15 days to avoid further delays, a news release said. Among others, the meeting was attended by the Secretary Planning, Secretary Economic Affairs, Chief Secretaries of all Provinces, the Country Directors of the World Bank and Asian Development Bank (ADB), the UN Resident Coordinator, the UNDP Resident Representative, the Deputy Head of Mission of the EU and senior officials from the Planning Commission.

The agenda of the meeting was to review and follow-up on decisions made during the 3rd PSC meeting, a progress review of ongoing 4RF projects, updates on flood reconstruction and coordination efforts with UNDP, and the current status of financial pledges.

In his opening remarks, the minister described the unprecedented disaster that struck Pakistan between June and August 2022, caused by a combination of torrential rains, riverine floods and urban flash floods.

He noted that one-third of the country was submerged, affecting 33 million people and displacing nearly 8 million.