Imran to visit quake hit areas on Monday

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan is slated to visit Mirpur on Monday to express solidarity with the victims of the September 24 earthquake that hit the lakeside city and its adjoining areas, an official said.

On Sunday, death toll increased to 40 -- 38 victims from Mirpur and two in the neighbouring Jhelum district of Punjab, while the number of the people with serious and minor injuries was 172 and 680, respectively, Dawn news quoted Chaudhry Mohammad Tayyab, the Divisional Commissioner of Mirpur, as saying on Sunday.

Of the seriously injured persons, 27 were still being treated at Divisional Headquarters Hospital and three in the Combined Military Hospital, Mangla, he said.

According to Tayyab, Khan would be given a briefing on the losses as well as rescue, relief and rehabilitation measures taken by the district officials upon his arrival, following which he would visit the Divisional Headquarters Hospital.

On September 27, Prime Minister Khan had announced compensation of 500,000 Pakistani rupees for each person killed in the quake.

Tayyab said the cheques for the amount would be distributed among dependants of the deceased on Monday.

However, no announcement has yet been made about compensation to the injured or for those who had suffered property losses.

Tayyab said that according to preliminary reports, some 454 concrete houses were destroyed, 140 school buildings and 200 vehicles damaged, with around 500 cattle killed due to the 5.8-magnitude quake which was also felt in parts of northern India.