Pakistan PM orders ‘emergency’ measures to curb cholera outbreak in Pir Koh

As Pakistan’s Pir Koh tehsil of the Dera Bugti district reels under the worst cholera outbreak, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has instructed the Pakistan federal and provincial governments to take necessary actions on an emergency basis to stop the spread of the disease.

Sharif has issued directives that the people of Pakistan must be provided with clean drinking water, and food items reported Dawn newspaper. Further, the Pakistan Prime Minister also directed that those who have been affected by the widespread cholera outbreak must be given medicinal provisions and other assistance as well.

This comes after the Pir Koh residents had opted for a sit-in protest over the absence of clean drinking water and the increasing number of cholera cases. The angry mob of protesters took their protests to the streets, carrying placards and banners which were inscribed with their demands.

The protesters engaged in sloganeering against the incumbent government as well as the local administration and later blocked the roads too, reported Dawn. The local tribal leaders of Pir Koh complained that the lack of clean drinking water in the area led the people to drink contaminated water from the ponds along with the animals, which has resulted in a severe cholera outbreak.

Sarfraz Bugti, the Senator of the Balochistan Awami Party has also urged the authorities to declare a state of emergency in Pir Koh. He instructed the authorities further to lend aid to the afflicted accompanied by completing water supply schemes.