Islamabad: Prime Minister Nawaz while addressing a press conference in Peshawar, announced a Rs0.6 million relief package for those killed in the earthquake.
He also announced Rs 0.1m for each person injured in the disaster.
The premier said that every person handicapped by the quake would receive Rs 0.2m, while Rs 0.2m was announced for building the houses destroyed in quake.
Answering a question, the premier reaffirmed that the aid package was announced for affectees of KP, Fata and Gilgit-Baltistan while the expenditure will be shared by the federal and provincial governments.
The cheque distribution is to commence Monday and affectees will receive the cash through bank counters established near relief camps.
"We would have started it (cheque distribution) today, but to keep the process transparent, a verification committee has been set up to identify actual affectees and assess damages," said Nawaz.
The PM said that verification committee will comprise a local resident, a military force personnel and a federal government representative while the relief distribution will be completed til Thursday.
The initial quake — which struck the country at 2:09 pm Monday — has been followed by several aftershocks, measuring as high as magnitude 4.8, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).
Joint Secretary Prime Minister Office Kazim Niaz is heading cell while NDMA, respective Provincial Disaster Management Authorities, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) and Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority (Erra) were made a part of the cell.
After chairing a high-level meeting in PM House on Tuesday, which was also attended by COAS Raheel Sharif and Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar, Nawaz said his government would announce a relief package to help quake victims.
Helicopters and military planes were transporting relief supplies and military engineers were working on restoring communication lines disrupted by landslides, said Lt. Gen. Asim Saleem Bajwa, the army spokesman.
Pakistan International Airline (PIA) has offered free transportation of relief goods to the federal government and the NDMA from domestic and international destinations.
A spokesperson for the national flag carrier said yesterday that PIA employees were with the people affected by the earthquake.
He said: “Pakistan International Airlines is ready to provide assistance, if necessary for the people of earthquake affected areas.”
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