Lahore: Alkhidmat Foundation Pakistan held an emergency meeting at its head office to review the situation arising from monsoon rains and the risk of possible flooding, with instructions issued to keep disaster response centres, relief supplies, volunteer teams and rescue resources fully prepared across the country.

The meeting was chaired by Alkhidmat Foundation Pakistan Secretary General Syed Waqas Jafri and attended by Chairman Alkhidmat Disaster Management Aijazullah Khan, President Alkhidmat Central Punjab Ikram Ul Haq Subhani, CEO Alkhidmat Khubaib Bilal, General Manager Media Relations Shoaib Hashmi and heads of disaster management from across the country.

Disaster management representatives from Gilgit-Baltistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and northern Punjab briefed the meeting on the situation in their respective areas and said that Alkhidmat's volunteers and rescue teams were fully prepared to respond to any possible emergency.

Syed Waqas Jafri said effective disaster management required preparedness, planning and timely action before a disaster rather than responding only after it occurred. 'There is currently no report of a large-scale disaster, but all regions must remain alert in view of weather forecasts,' he said.

He directed the regions to prepare not only potentially affected areas but also nearby and adjoining areas that could provide backup support during an emergency. All regions were asked to immediately review their disaster response centres and inventories and ensure that essential rescue and relief equipment was complete and in usable condition. The secretary general particularly stressed the need for advance availability of boats, life jackets and trained volunteers for narrow streets and inundated areas during floods. He also called for updated volunteer lists, surprise mock drills and timely sharing of resources among different regions.

Syed Waqas Jafri directed the relevant teams to maintain advance coordination with the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), provincial disaster management authorities (PDMA), Rescue 1122 and district administrations to ensure a coordinated response in case of an emergency.

He said Alkhidmat, with its extensive volunteer network, disaster response centres and coordination with relevant institutions, was fully prepared to undertake timely and organised relief and rescue operations in any possible emergency.