ISLAMABAD, Aug 6: Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali on Wednesday said the government was doing everything possible to rehabilitate the flood-affected people but needed assistance of philanthropists and social workers to fully cover the losses caused by recent rains and floods in Sindh and Balochistan.

For this purpose, he said, a PM’s Disaster Relief Fund has been set up, and people were making generous contribution to help their brethren.

He was talking to representatives of Raabta-i-Alam-i- Islami Justice (retd) Muhammad Afzal Cheema and Rehmatullah Nazir who called on him at the Prime Minister’s secretariat.

During the meeting, they briefed the PM about the working of the Raabta and its services for the Muslims all over the world.

They informed Mr Jamali that the Raabta was fully alive to the crisis situation faced by the people of Sindh and Balochistan, and was working to arrange immediate financial assistance for them.

The two RAI representatives presented a cheque of Rs100,000 each from their own pockets for the PM’s Disaster Relief Fund.

The prime minister said the people of Sindh and Balochistan were in the midst of a crisis and they needed help of their brethren.

Meanwhile, the prime minister said that the government was giving top priority to improving trade with its neighbours, especially Afghanistan and the central Asian states.

He said this while talking to Federal Minister for Communications Senator Ahmad Ali who called on him at the PM’s secretariat on Wednesday.

“A plan for the construction of a major service area at Chaman is being considered for facilitating tourists, traders and transporters,” Mr Jamali said.

He said that once completed, the Gwadar port would be the most important hub of economic activity in the region, and it was very important to connect it with the important markets of Afghanistan and the CAS.

The prime minister asked the communication minister to finalize the plan for the construction of services area at Chaman to facilitate the people in transit there.

This would include automobile repair workshops, hotels, restaurants, markets, offices and trucking stations.

He asked the minister to personally monitor the progress of work at the Gwadar project and ensure availability of all civic utilities at the earliest.

He also asked the minister to ensure that the project does not lag behind its schedule, and is completed by the deadline, if not before.

Discussing the condition of road network in the country, which is badly affected by recent rains and floods, the prime minister emphasized the need for repair and rehabilitation of the communication network on an urgent basis.

Talking to MNA Dr Sher Afgan, MNA Engineer Ameer Muqaam and MNA Danyal Aziz, who met him separately here, Mr Jamali said the government was working tirelessly for the uplift of the masses and making every effort towards that.

The parliamentarians briefed the PM about the progress of development projects going on in their respective areas and the problems that needed his attention.

The PM said that it was one of the top priorities of the government to bring the less developed areas of the country at par with the more developed ones. —APP