- Minister suggests paying due consideration to disaster preparedness other than disaster response
ISLAMABAD: Minister for Federal Education and Professional Training Shafqat Mahmood on Monday appreciated National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Chairman Omar Mahmood Hayat for aptly suggesting the appropriate name for October 8 as the National Resilience Day.
Addressing the National Resilience Day observed by NDMA, he said that living nations always learn from their past and strive for a better future. He said that Pakistan was directly hit by climate change and also a water scarred country which is quite alarming.
He said that the country like other regional countries was undergoing recurring disasters, adding that the earthquake 2005 that shook Kashmir, emergency situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in 2009 and super floods in 2010, were unparalleled in the history of disasters.
He said that these disasters not only caused massive human life losses rather impact the economy of the country whereas the in-time assistance and help by the nation, expatriates, global humanitarian organisations, donors and friendly countries helped to cope with the situation.
“I wish Pakistan will never face any natural disaster but it gives a sense of comfort when NDMA comes into mind which is prepared to respond to the disasters in a befitting manner,” the minister said. In the prevailing scenario where cycles of droughts, earthquakes and floods hit the country, it is required to pay due consideration to disaster preparedness other than disaster response, he remarked.
He also assured his ministry’s complete support for the execution of the Pakistan Safety School Framework Project as the federal capital would serve as a laboratory for executing disaster preparedness programmes.