Al-Khidmat Foundation, a Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) affiliated relief organisation has appealed federal government as well as all relief agencies to pay more attention to relief activities in the rains and snowfall affected areas of NWFP. The appeal was made by President, Al-Khidmat Foundation NWFP, Shabir Ahmad Khan MNA while addressing a press conference here on Saturday. He said that the damages made by the heavy spell of rains and snowfall are so high than the relief activities and only relief agencies are not in position to compensate the affected people. He said that federal government should co-operate in the relief while accepting it as a challenge.

The provincial chief of Al-Khidmat Foundation said that soon after the calamity, the foundation had put its all district level teams on red alert and they in permanent contact with the affected districts. He said that their teams have started active role in the rehabilitation and protecting of the victims and have initially started relief work with an amount of Rs 3.5 million.

The JI MNA said that a convoy comprising of five trucks had already left for the badly affected districts of Swat, Abbottabad, Shangla, Kohistan, Batagram and Mardan. The distribution of the relief goods in these districts would be completed on Saturday.

He informed the newsmen that relief goods comprised of food items for 1700 families, 1000 blankets and 400 sweaters while the edibles were including flour, sugar, rice and ghee.

Beside, these districts the foundation had also directed its local teams to distribute food items in Chitral and initially we have directed them to make arrangements for 200 families. He said that they are also distributing cash among the affected families of Dir and Peshawar.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2005