Director General Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry on Wednesday said that one engineer brigade, along with 19 infantry and medical units, has been deployed to carry out a relief and rescue operation in flood-affected districts of the country.

Addressing a press conference alongside Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar, the Director General of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), he said that flood response units have already been mobilised in Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and Gilgit-Baltistan for flood-affected areas. Around 28,000 people have been rescued so far during the operation, he said.

He said that in total, 29 army medical camps have been set up in Punjab, KPK, GB and AJK. Medical treatment has been provided to over 20,700 people, in addition to distributing 225 tons of rations to flood-affected individuals in various parts of the country, he added.

The DG ISPR said that despite bad weather, the Army’s aviation has completed 26 sorties. Three major bridges, including two in KPK and one in GB, have been repaired, and 104 roads have been cleared in the region, in collaboration with civil authorities, he said.

He said the Karakoram Highway (KKH) is completely open, adding that remaining roads in GB will be cleared within the next 24-48 hours.

Lt Gen Chaudhry said that the army is carrying out a “major rescue operation” with boats in Kartarpur Sahib, adding that if the weather clears, army aviation will join in the rescue effort. Four infantry units and engineer units have been deployed in the area around Kasur, evacuating around 9,000 people and relocating them and animals to safe zones, he said.

He said a military relief centre and medical camps have been established in the area.

The DG said that although floods have not yet reached Bahawalpur and Bahawalnagar, four engineer and infantry units are on standby, besides setting up relief camps. Around 2,000 people have been evacuated from areas with rising water flow, he added.

The DG ISPR said that in KP, one engineer brigade, two engineer units, four infantry units, one urban search and rescue team and a medical battalion are carrying out the relief operation.

In Gujranwala division, six infantry units have been deployed, two engineer units have been deployed with boats and other equipment, and two medical camps have been set up, he said.

The DG said that in collaboration with civil authorities, 6,000 people in the area have been evacuated. “It is important to note that along the working boundary, the army is maintaining strict vigilance at its posts. No post in flood-affected areas has been abandoned,” he added.

However, he said two armed forces personnel have embraced martyrdom and two sustained injuries during the flood relief operation. He affirmed that the Pakistan Army and the people stood united, adding that no malicious force can drive a wedge between them.