Pak PM Shehbaz Sharif refuses to inaugurate flood relief dashboard, calls it a 'joke'

With Pakistan's situation deteriorating every day in the wake of devastating floods, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has refused to inaugurate the dashboard built by the IT ministry for flood relief assistance because he wasn't satisfied with its performance.

Sharif called this dashboard a "joke" and said that this is not what they imagined. In order to provide necessaryflood relief digital assistance to people and have necessary features and information,PM Sharif had earlier given the go-ahead for this dashboard.

Add WION as a Preferred Source

But later, Shehbaz said, "If real-time information doesn't arrive in this, then it's of no use. Then we are wasting each other's time. I`m not going to inaugurate this today." Additionally, he mentioned that data from Pakistan's meteorological department has not been added to the dashboard, Dawn reported.

In order to improve the flood relief, PM Sharif gave proper instructions to the authorities to update the board with all the necessary information and features that are required for proper communication to the world and develop this dashboard as a "world-class" platform.

The South Asian country is facing its worst floods yet. Over 2 million homes in Pakistan have been submerged or severely damaged, and nearly 7.9 million people have been displaced as of now, with over 590,000 living in relief camps.

The United Nations has revised its humanitarian assistance for the country from $160 million to $810 million. Other foreign countries are also providing the country with assistance.

Ismail Miftah, the former finance minister, had resigned following economic and climate turmoil in the country.

(With inputs from agencies)

WATCH WION LIVE HERE