Afghanistan says finds 1.8 bln barrel oilfield

KABUL: Afghanistan said on Sunday it had discovered an oilfield with an estimated 1.8 billion barrels in the north of the war-ravaged country, where US and other foreign forces are trying to tame a Taliban-led insurgency.

The discovery of the basin between northern Balkh and Shiberghan provinces was made after a survey conducted by Afghan and international geologists, said Jawad Omar, a spokesman for the ministry of mines.

“I do not know its price in the market. But the initial survey says there are 1.8 billion barrels of oil and I think there will be more than what it is estimated,” he told Reuters.

Various estimates of Afghanistan’s hidden wealth have been made in recent years, but the challenge of exploiting the resources in a country at war and with little mining infrastructure is daunting for most investors.

Omar gave no more details on how the estimates were made but said the country will offer the reserves for development along with other minerals in the coming months.

Afghanistan hopes that untapped mineral deposits valued at $3 trillion could help reduce the need to rely on Western cash for bankrolling its impoverished economy and for its soldiers to maintain security when foreign troops draw down numbers.

But ravaged by three decades of foreign interventions and civil war, the central government now faces the Taliban insurgency and relies on foreign forces for control of many parts of the vast Central Asian country.

The US Department of Defence estimated earlier this year that Afghanistan's mineral resources could top $1 trillion, but experts say the fragile security situation could delay seeing the benefits of this wealth for years.

Omar said an earlier plan for the tender of a 1.6 billion barrel Afghan-Tajik oil block in early 2011 was still on track.

He said Afghanistan will retender by year-end a deposit of iron of 1.8 billion tonnes it had scrapped earlier this year due to the global recession and changes in the world markets.

The untapped mineral resources include iron ore, copper, lithium, oil gas and gems which Afghanistan hopes to put for developing in coming years despite rising insecurity in recent years, the bloodiest period since US-led troops ousted the Taliban in 2001.

China’s top integrated copper producer, Jiangxi Copper Co and China Metallurgical Group Corp, in 2007 became the first major investor in Afghanistan.

They are involved in the exploration of the vast multi-bilion dollar Aynak Copper Mine to the south of Kabul.

Omar said the actual exploration of the mine will start after three years. – Reuters

Policeman hurls shoe at Omar Abdullah

SRINAGAR: A policeman flung a shoe at Indian-administered Kashmir’s Chief Minister Omar Abdullah at an independence day event Sunday, which saw thousands of Kashmiris in the streets protesting against Indian rule.

Security was tight across the Muslim-majority Kashmir Valley for the annual national holiday, which separatists traditionally mark as a “black day”.

At the main official function in a sports stadium in Srinagar, Abdullah had just unfurled the Indian national flag when the show was thrown.

The minister was not hit and the policeman, who had chanted “we want freedom”, was quickly overpowered by bodyguards.

“Hurling a shoe is better than hurling a stone,” Abdullah commented after the incident. Abdullah heads the National Conference, the main pro-India party in Kashmir.

Stone-throwing protesters have been defying almost daily curfews over the past two months and clashing with police in Srinagar and other towns in the valley.

The unrest has claimed 57 lives, most of them young men or teenagers killed in police firing.

On Friday and Saturday, security forces shot dead six protesters and bystanders in clashes with demonstrators.

One of the young men killed on Saturday was from the southern town of Anantnag, where thousands of residents — men and women — held night-long anti-India demonstrations, witnesses said.

Night protests were also held in Narabal, on the outskirts of Srinagar, where another protester was killed Saturday.

India's highest representative in Kashmir, state governor N.N. Vohra, has urged the security forces to “revisit their strategies and tactics of crowd control for securing maximum protection of human life”.

The recent surge in anti-India protests began when a teenage student was killed by a police tear gas shell on June 11 in Srinagar.

In his Independence Day speech on Sunday, which he delivered to a half-empty stadium, Abdullah expressed his personal grief at the heavy death toll.

“My heart bleeds,” he said. “The victims of the unfortunate events are my own brothers and sons and I am in gloom and bereavement.”

Acknowledging the sense of frustration among young Kashmiris, a huge number of whom are unemployed, the chief minister announced plans to provide 50,000 government jobs in the next few months.

Resentment against Indian rule in Kashmir boiled over into an armed separatist insurgency in 1989 which has since claimed tens of thousands of lives.

The recent unrest is the worst for two years.

UN chief appeals for aid as flood crisis worsens

SUKKUR: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged the world to provide more aid to flood-ravaged Pakistan on Sunday as the 20 million people made homeless grew increasingly desperate and new torrents inundated villages.

Survivors fought over food being handed out from a relief vehicle close to the town of Sukkur in hard-hit Sindh province, ripping at each other's clothes and causing such chaos that the distribution had to be abandoned, according to an Associated Press reporter at the scene.

''The impatience of the people has deprived us of the little food that had come,'' said Shaukat Ali, a flood victim waiting for food.

Pakistan's worst floods ever have killed about 1,500 people and damaged 7.9 million acres of cotton, sugar cane and wheat crops. The International Monetary Fund has warned of dire economic consequences in a country already reliant on foreign aid to keep its economy afloat.

The UN has appealed for an initial $460 million to provide relief, but only 20 per cent has been given.

UN chief Ban visited the country for talks with government leaders and to see the flood zone.

''I am here to see what more needs to be done and to urge the world community to speed up the assistance to the Pakistani people,'' he said.

Waters five feet deep washed through Derra Allah Yar, a city of 300,000 people on the border of Sindh and Balochistan provinces, said government official Salim Khoso. About 200,000 had fled the city.

''We have to feed them, but we don't know how,'' he said.

But in a televised address to the nation Saturday, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said 20 million were now homeless. He did not elaborate, and it was unclear how many of those people were briefly forced to leave their homes and how many had lost their houses altogether.

Authorities said more flood surges were coursing down the River Indus and other waterways in southern Sindh province, inundating hundreds of other villages. While local charities and international agencies have helped hundreds of thousands of people with food, water, shelter and medical treatment, the scale of the disaster has meant that many millions have received little or no assistance.

The United Nations said the rate of diarrhoea continued to increase among survivors.

Cholera, which can spread rapidly after floods and other disasters, had also been detected in the northwest, where the floods first hit more than two weeks ago after exceptionally heavy monsoon rains.

''We are here like beggars,'' said Mukhtar Ali, a 45-year-old accountant living on the side of a highway along with thousands of other people. ''The last food we received was a small packet of rice yesterday and 15 of us shared that.''

The United States has so far donated the most to the relief effort, at least $70 million, and has sent military helicopters to rescue stranded people and drop off food and water.

Two additional US Navy MH-53E Sea Dragon helicopters arrived in Pakistan on Saturday to support flood relief efforts, the US State Department said. That brings to seven the total number of aircraft in Pakistan from the USS Peleliu, which is positioned in international waters in the Arabian Sea.

Local Al-Qaeda leader surrenders in Yemen

SANAA: A local Al-Qaeda leader in Yemen who sheltered foreign militants, including Saudis, has surrendered to authorities, a Yemeni security official said on Sunday.

Jamaan Safian was responsible for the organisation’s activities in the Al-Jawf province, northeast of the capital Sanaa, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The source did not provide details on how the surrender was negotiated, or when it took place.

Sufian’s name does not appear on the Yemeni government list of most wanted Al-Qaeda militants.

In the past, Yemeni tribal leaders have negotiated agreements for the surrender of Al-Qaeda members.

The local branch of Osama bin Laden's organisation is especially active in Yemen’s east.

The Sanaa government has intensified its operations against Al-Qaeda, under pressure from Washington, since the network's local affiliate claimed the attempted bombing of a US-bound airliner on Christmas Day last year. – AFP

Rush hour blasts kill four in Baghdad

BAGHDAD: A series of rush-hour bombings across Baghdad hit commuters on their way to work, killing four and injuring at least 16, Iraqi police said.

Sunday's deadliest strike came when a roadside bomb exploded at 7:15 a.m. local time next to a minibus heading from the Shia neighbourhood of Sadr City into downtown.

Police said three people were killed, including a police officer, and nine were wounded.

A hospital worker confirmed the casualties.

Earlier, three bombs planted a few meters away from each other in a downtown business district blew up simultaneously. Police and hospital officials said a bystander was killed and seven injured. — AP

Pakistan must act to move peace talks forward: India PM

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh markedIndia’s independence day with a warning to Pakistanthat a recent resumption of dialogue would go nowhere unless Islamabad cracks down on militancy.

“As far as Pakistan is concerned, we expect from them that they would not let their territory be used for acts of terrorism against India,” Singh said in his address from the ramparts of the Red Fort in Old Delhi.

“If this is not done, we cannot progress far in our dialogue with Pakistan,” Singh said.

India suspended a peace dialogue with Pakistan in the wake of the November 2008 Mumbai attacks, which claimed 166 lives, and the two countries have only recently begun to explore a resumption of structured talks.

India accuses Pakistan of failing to crack down sufficiently on militant groups that operate from bases on its territory, such as the Lashkar-i-Taiba, which New Delhi blames for the Mumbai carnage.

India and Pakistan have fought three wars since the division of the sub-continent in 1947 and their relationship has always been beset by mutual mistrust. – AFP

Raging waters enter Jaffarabad

QUETTA / HYDERABAD / SUKKUR: Floodwaters invaded large swathes of Balochistan’s Jaffarabad district on Saturday morning, forcing hundreds of thousands of people to abandon their homes and seek safety under open skies.

The administration started advising people to evacuate Dera Allahyar, a town in Jaffarabad district, as breaches in a number of embankments on theIndus sent torrents of water forcing their way into Balochistan.

Officials said train services between Quetta and the rest of the country had been suspended again because of inundation of a track between Dera Allahyar and Jacobabad, Sindh.

Several villages in Bhand area of Chitin Pati were under six feet of water. Many people took shelter on rooftops.

“At least four localities in Dera Allahyar, including Bhatti colony, Shaheed Murad Jamali colony, have been submerged,” Nasirabad division Commissioner Sher Khan Bazi said, adding that dozens of mud houses were collapsed. He said the colonies had been evacuated and people shifted to Dera Murad Jamali, Sibi and other areas.

Around 80 per cent of Dera Allahyar and its surrounding areas have evacuated. However, in some areas people have refused to leave their houses despite the flood warning.

Irrigation officials said that a 10km area between the Sindh and Balochistan border was under the floodwater. “Floodwater is entering central areas of Dera Allahyar from three sides,” they added.

Sources said the Sindh irrigation authorities had on Friday late night tried to breach the Jamali bypass to divert the floodwater to Jaffarabad to save Jacobabad and other areas of the province.

They said that officials of the Sindh irrigation department and federal Sports Minister Ejaz Jakhrani along with a contingent of police and heavy machinery had come to the site to breach the bypass, but the Jaffarabad Deputy Commissioner rushed to the area and foiled the attempt.

Former prime minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali along with his armed tribesmen also reached the area. He said the Sindh government would not be allowed to divert the floodwater to Jaffarabad and any attempt in this regard would be resisted.

The local administration, police and Jamali tribesman are guarding the bypass.

According to the sources, Mr Jakhrani said that breach was necessary to save the historic town of Jacobabad and the Shahbaz airbase as the floodwater of Todi bund and Mirwah canal was threatening the area.

Deputy Commissioner Saeed Ahmed Jamali said the next 24 hours were critical for Jaffarabad.

The sources said that police and the local administration were informing people on loudspeakers about the flood and asking them to move to safe places, adding that a large number of people had abandoned their houses and were moving to Dera Murad Jamali and Sibi and Quetta.

However, the sources said, most people in Dera Allahyar had decided to stay in the town.

A large number of families have taken refuge at the Jamali bypass and along the banks of Khirtar, Pat Feeder and Rabi canals.

GUDDU BARRAGE

The water level started rising again at the Guddu barrage on Saturday after showing a receding trend over the past three days while the Kotri barrage upstream saw a surge of 13,000 cusecs.

The flow of water recorded a consistent rise at the Dadu-Moro bridge — a point between Sukkur and Kotri barrages.

According to a television report, a high flood tide coming from a breach in the Tori embankment invaded Jacobabad, where 80 per cent of the population has been evacuated.

It quoted Jacobabad DCO Kazim Jatoi as saying that water was rapidly entering Noorwah, exerting a fearsome thrust on the canal.

At the Guddu barrage, the flow upstream and downstream stood at 1,011,300 cusecs on Saturday evening. At the Sukkur barrage, upstream was 1,079,000 cusecs and downstream 976,000 cusecs.

Irrigation officials said the pressure on various embankments had started releasing and the situation was now under control. They said the flood had reached up to Larkana and would pass through the Kotri barrage within a few days.

The people affected by floods in Ghauspur and Karampur have taken shelter in relief camps set up in Kashmore, but are awaiting for relief goods and medicines. The district administration claimed that ‘treated water’ was being supplied to the affected people.

Shortages of food and medicines were reported from different villages of Ghauspur area. People are still stranded in villages of Dari, Khayas Bhayyo, Tori Bungalow, Jam Sanwaro Chachar, Dost Mohammad Sabzoi and Jangal Mirani. Fifteen people have taken shelter in a temple in Ghauspur.

Sukkur barrage’s chief engineer Haroon Memon said that late arrival of peak flow at Kotri upstream was because water had scattered in kutcha areas.

“But a peak of 700,000 to 800,000 cusecs will reach Kotri soon,” he said, adding that all main canals were getting their indented supplies.

Army officials rescued hundreds of people from kutcha areas near Bhai Khan Shobcho and Saeedabad in Matiari district, but a large number of people are still stranded in the area.

A young boy drowned near Bhanote bund in Kari Keti.

Muzaffargarh city cleared for resettlement

MUZAFFARGARH: The district government announced on Saturday that flood threats had vanished and those who vacated the city could return to their homes.

Talking to reporters, District Coordination Officer Farasat Iqbal said the emergency situation was not any more and city areas were safe from any imminent flooding.

He told municipal officials to spray the area to save people from misquotes. He said the district government set up 46 relief camps, which were being monitored by officials. He said he cancelled leaves of schoolteachers and gave them charge of relief camps.

The district government had announced evacuation of the city on Monday because of flood threats from Tulhairy Canal and River Chenab. Now, irrigation officials have diverted Tulhairy Canal water to Chenab.

After the announcement by the district government, thousands of people started returning to their homes and a huge rush was seen on Multan-Muzaffargarh Road.

Around 750,000 people left the city and most of them went to deserts near Mahmood Kot and DG Khan Road.

Finance EDO Amjad Ali said free shuttle bus service started here from city to Mahmood Kot and Baseera to facilitate thousands of people. Two trains arranged by State Minister on Economic Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar are transporting people from Multan to Muzaffargarh.

On the other hand, water gushing out of breaches in Muzaffargarh Canal entered western side of Shehr Sultan town on Saturday. High flood in the River Chenab is also threatening a spur protecting Shehr Sultan, a town of 50,000 people.

Rana Zulfiqar, a resident of the town, said Shehr Sultan was threatened by Indus and Chenab rivers and the district government had ordered evacuation from the city.

President promises adequate compensation

MUZAFFARGARH / NOWSHERA: President Asif Ali Zardari visited flood-hit people in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab on Saturday, assuring them that the government would provide full compensation for the property that they had lost in the flooding.

He said the government had decided to ban export of wheat and some other commodities and these would be utilised to meet their food needs.

In the flood-stricken area of Alipur in Punjab, the president landed at a college and rushed to a relief camp set up in a government-run school, said State Minister for Economic Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar.

Ms Khar, who accompanied the president at the camp, quoted the president as having said that he had asked Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani to hold a probe into a breach that occurred in the LMB canal and opening of spillways, a decision that resulted in severe devastation in the district.

Because of the breach in the Left Marginal Bank canal along the Taunsa barrage about 60 per cent of the district has been submerged.

Dost Muhammad Khosa, a member of the PML-led provincial government, was present during Mr Zardari’s visit to the area.

The PML-N mostly gave the cold shoulder to Mr Zardari during his visits to Punjab. During Mr Zardari’s last visit to Lahore, Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif had preferred to stay in Turkey, thus avoiding a meeting with the president and co-chairperson of the PPP.

CM says 3.7 million affected in Sindh

KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah has termed the devastation caused by floods a historic tragedy, saying over 15 million people have so far been affected, including 3.7 million in Sindh.

The chief minister was addressing a press conference here on Saturday after visiting flood-affected areas. He said losses suffered by Sindh could be over Rs40 billion.

However, he pointed out, because of preventive measures taken by his government the human loss was restricted to 11, including seven people who were swept away by floods and four died during the rescue operation.

The chief minister said 17 districts had so far been declared calamity-hit areas in the view of massive damage to crops and properties there.

He paid tribute to the services rendered by the armed forces and Rangers in the rescue operation which had helped the government to meet its prime objective of saving human lives.

He appealed to the people to donate generously in the relief fund the Sindh government had set up with Rs10 billion. He said so far 618 relief camps had been set up.

Mr Shah said rice crop of million of dollars had been swept away in the quality rice growing area which was mostly exported.

Referring to the situation in Kachcha areas, he said people there were reluctant to leave their houses.

Conflicting reports about cholera

PESHAWAR: Reports about a suspected case of cholera sparked panic in Swat valley on Saturday.

Even the prime minister referred to the report in his address to the nation.

Alarm bells started ringing among welfare organisations working in the flood-ravaged regions across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

But the Director-General of Health, Dr Sajid Shaheen, contradicted the report about confirmation of a cholera case in Mingora, saying that health teams deputed in the affected areas had been reporting complaints of watery diarrhoea, but there was no report of cholera as yet.

“The situation is extremely precarious in Swat, but our teams have established a surveillance system to check epidemics,” he said.

“People are suffering from acute watery diarrhoea but the situation is under control.”

In reply to a statement attributed to a UN official about cholera in Swat, he said “we are prepared to cope with the situation and such reports tend to cause alarm”.

Dr Bakht Jamal, Swat’s top health official, said a two-year-old child, Asad, had been hospitalised due to diarrhoea. Stool samples from Asad and his brother had been sent for tests, he said on telephone from Swat.

“There has been at least one confirmed case of cholera in Mingora,” Mr Maurizio Giuliano, a spokesman for the UN Office for Humanitarian Affairs, was quoted by a western news agency as saying. But Mr Giuliano later said he had been misquoted.

“The ministry of health has not notified us of any confirmed case of cholera. However, cholera is endemic in this region, and in the current emergency situation it is expected that cholera cases might occur sporadically amongst the susceptible population in the affected areas.

“Therefore the threat from cholera in the flood affected communities remains high. In order to avoid excess mortality, it is important that all acute watery diarrhoea (AWD) cases with severe dehydration have easy and rapid access to treatment. At this time, at least 36,000 cases of suspected AWD have been reported.”

Gilani accepts Nawaz proposal on relief panel

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and PML-N chief Mian Nawaz Sharif agreed on Saturday to set up a ‘credible national body comprising men of integrity’ to ensure transparency in the collection, management and distribution of relief funds among the flood-affected.

Mr Sharif said it was gratifying for him that Mr Gilani had accepted his proposal regarding the commission.

Mr Gilani hinted at the names of the likes of retired justices Rana Bhagwandas, Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim and Nasir Aslam Zahid to be nominated after getting their acceptance.

In their two-hour discussion, the prime minister was assisted by Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira, Food and Agriculture Minister Nazar Mohammad Gondal and Water and Power Minister Raja Parvaiz Ashraf, while Mr Sharif was accompanied by Senator Ishaq Dar.

Addressing a joint press conference at the PM House auditorium after the meeting, the two leaders said they would appeal to the rich to come forward to help the millions of their compatriots in distress.

The prime minister said: “We can together turn around the economy which is destroyed by the floods by shunning our political considerations and point scoring spree.”

Mr Gilani said he had discussed the today’s meeting with President Asif Ali Zardari who appreciated and encouraged the initiative. He said he had also called Awami National Party chief Asfandyar Wali Khan and MQM leader Farooq Sattar and would continue to contact other leaders to muster their support for a national cause.

He said he and Mr Sharif stood together to help the people who had lost their homes and all means of livelihood.

The PML-N chief said he had witnessed the “unprecedented devastation” caused by the floods, adding that there was a need to unite the nation.

He said he along with the prime minister would tour the entire country to raise funds without waiting for the international assistance.

“We will not beg the world to come and help us. If any country wishes to extend help it may do so, but we have the ability to handle the calamity on our own,” he added.

Mr Sharif said the situation demanded that no distinction was made between the government and the opposition in reaching out to the flood-affected people and to raise and disburse funds.

He said that a meeting of the Council of Common Interests would be convened soon to evaluate the devastation and determine share of expenditures on a regional basis.

When asked if parties outside parliament would also be taken on board, Mr Gilani said: “It is a national effort in which not only political parties but also leaders of civil society organisations will be solicited.”

He said that in the next phase of planning it would be ensured that no structure was built on waterways and highways to avoid future devastations.

In reply a question about the closure of some TV channels in some areas of Sindh and Karachi, the prime minister said he had directed the Pemra chairman to ensure that no channels were blocked or he would risk his job.

Agencies add: Prime Minister Gilani in a televised address marking the Independence Day said that 20 million people had been affected by the floods.

“The floods affected some 20 million people, destroyed standing crops and food storages worth billions of dollars, causing colossal loss to national economy,” he said. “I would appeal to the world community to extend a helping hand to fight this calamity.”

Mr Sharif said names recommended for the fundraising body included Justice Rana Bhagwan Das, Justice Fakhruddin G. Ibrahim, Dr Adeeb Rizvi, Mehmood Khan Achakzai and Ali Ahmed Kurd.

KP govt seeks Rs10bn from centre

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government sought Rs10 billion aid from federal government for relief and rehabilitation activities in the flood-hit areas of the province.

“The government immediately requires Rs10 to Rs25 billion for relief and rehabilitation work,” said Provincial Minister for Information Mian Iftikhar Hussain while addressing a press conference here Saturday.

He said that reconstruction and rehabilitation cost might exceed Rs2 trillion, but for immediate relief activities and rehabilitation work the provincial needed Rs10 billion from the centre. He urged federal government to show generosity and assist millions of destitute people badly affected by the floods.

He said that government would pay Rs25,000 to each affected family for repair work of damaged houses while those families who had lost their relatives in the floods would be paid Rs300,000 each.

He said that the province faced serious financial crises.“We need assistance from the federal government and international community,” said Mr Hussain, adding that provincial government would negotiate with foreign donors within the framework of the constitution.

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government, he said, would not directly seek help from donors.

The minister expressed satisfaction over the all parties’ conference hosted by the provincial government to take all mainstream political parties into confidence about the prevailing situation and also seek their guidance regarding relief and rehabilitation activities.

Chief Minister Ameer Haider Khan Hoti chaired the conference. Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, Jamaat-i-Islami, Pakistan Tehrik Insaf, Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl and Pakhtunkhwa Mili Awami Party leaders attended the conference. Pakistan People’s Party-Sherpao and Pakistan Muslim League boycotted the event.

Interestingly opposition leader in the provincial assembly and JUI-F parliamentary leader Akram Khan Durrani had also announced boycott of the conference, but his party provincial chief Maulana Amanullah was present in the APC.

Officials of the Provincial Disaster Management Authority briefed politicians of the meeting about the losses caused by the floods and relief operation being carried out in different areas of the province.

The conference decided that there would be no politics on the natural calamity and political forces would focus attention on relief and rehabilitation activities.

Mr Hussain appreciated goodwill gesture of the political parties and said that there was no room for politics at this critical moment. “It has been decided that ruling parties and other political forces will not capitalise on the disaster,” he said, adding that political leadership had decided to show unity to resolve masses problems.

He said that political parties criticised the government’s relief activities and also gave recommendations and suggestions for fair distribution of relief assistance among the affected people. “The government welcomes positive criticism and will take help from political forces,” he said.

He said that APC had suggested expediting work on roads in Kohistan and Malakand division to provide access to the stranded population.

He said that water purification plants would be installed in the affected areas while tubewells would also be repaired to ensure provision of clean drinking water.

He said that some elements were trying to create an impression as if the army was a separate entity apart from the government. “Such impression is not in the country’ interest,” he said, adding that on the directives of the government the armed forces had launched relief activities.

He said that army was national institution and it was fulfilling its responsibility like other state entities. He said that government appreciated role of the army, navy and air force and urged commentators not to consider the army as separate institution.