Pakistan floods: Hundreds booked for terrorism during PM's Sukkur visit

Sukkur [Pakistan], August 28 : The Sukkur district police claimed to have registered FIRs on terrorism charges against over 100 unidentified persons for allegedly attacking police personnel, pelting vehicles with stones, damaging public and private property, and inciting flood victims outside a relief camp during the visit of the prime minister and foreign minister here on Friday.
While, the flood-hit families in the district have claimed that the police have registered fake FIRs against the protesters, who wanted to meet Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, Dawn reported.
The families said that the protestors demanded to meet the Pakistan PM and FM to bring to their notice that they had not been provided relief materials such as food, tents, mosquito nets, beds, and other resources amid the ongoing calamitous floods in the country.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah and other ministers visited Sukkur district to assess the flood situation and interacted with displaced families in relief camps.
During his visit to a camp set up near BA College, rain-affected families from different areas blocked some roads against the administration's failure to drain out stagnant rainwater, Dawn reported.
A police spokesperson said that when officials were discharging their duty outside the camp, some rioters, including women, blocked the main road, creating a law and order situation and inciting the flood-affected families against the officials.
"The rioters also smashed windshields of vehicles as a result of which traffic flow remained suspended for eight hours," he claimed.
"We have lodged a case under Anti-Terrorism Act against the miscreants," the spokesperson said, adding action would be taken against them as per law as soon as they were identified in CCTV camera footage and other videos showing them creating a law and order situation.
He warned that no one would be allowed to take the law into their hands and disturb the peace at this crucial time, Dawn reported.
Notably, the death toll from floods has crossed 1,000 in Pakistan and thousands more have been injured or displaced since June.
At least 1,033 people have died while 1,527 have been injured since June 14 from the rains and floods, Geo News reported citing National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).
In the last 24 hours, close to 119 people died and 71 were injured.
As per the data, four died in Balochistan, six in Gilgit Baltistan, 31 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and 76 in Sindh.
Cumulative data from June 14 from across Pakistan showed that 3,451.5 km of road has been damaged, and 149 bridges have collapsed, 170 shops were destroyed.
A total of 949,858 homes have been partially or fully destroyed. Out of the total, 662,446 homes have been partially damaged, and 287,412 have been fully destroyed. While 719,558 livestock has also been killed.
At least 110 districts of Pakistan have been hit by the floods with 72 of those districts declaring calamity hit, according to Geo News.
Pakistan is grappling with its worst natural disaster in over a decade. The floods affected the lives of millions of people after which the Pakistan government declared a "national emergency".
The NDMA shared that Pakistan's 30-year average showed that the country has received 134mm of rain and this year it received 388.7mm of rain. 190.07% more than the average.
On 26 August, the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) Flood Forecasting Division (FFD) issued a warning that very high to exceptionally high-level flooding is expected in River Kabul at Nowshera in KP province, as well as in tributaries of the Kabul and Indus rivers until 28 August.