ISLAMABAD: Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Khurshid Ahmed Shah has criticised the government for the inordinate delay in convening a meeting of the National Disaster Management Commission (NDMC), `resulting in the failure of national institutions to deal with natural calamities` In a statement issued here on Tuesday, the opposition leader regretted that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had no time to hold a meeting of the all powerful and important commission responsible of formulating policies and preparing plans to deal with emergency situations in the wake of natural disasters.

Mr Shah said that a meeting of the NDMC was scheduled for May, but it was cancelled at the last moment because the prime minister was busy in some other engagements. He said he had written a letter to the prime minister in July asking him to convene the meeting, but unfortunately the latter remained unmoved.

Under Section 3 of the NDMA Act, 2010, the government is required to constitute and hold meetings of the NDMC for making polices and plans and providing guidelines for disaster management.

The prime minister is chairman of the NDMC. It comprises leaders of the opposition in the National Assembly and the Senate, four chief ministers, federal ministers for defence, foreign affairs, finance, interior, health, social welfare and special education and communications, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governor as representative of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, the Azad Kashmir prime minister, the Gilgit-Baltistan chief minister, the Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee or his nominee and representatives of civil society or any other person appointed by the prime minister.

Mr Shah urged the prime minister to take personal interest and immediately call the NDMC meeting so that institutions like the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and the Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority (Erra) could be mobilised and made effective.

Expressing his grief over the loss of precious lives and property in Monday`s powerful earthquake, the opposition leader said the institutions responsible for dealing with natural disasters were not capable of handling the situation and providing any relief to the af fected people.

He said the failure of disaster management institutions to evacuate a few hundred stranded tourists from Naran and Kaghan valleys had put a big question mark on their performance.

Mr Shah said the presence in the quake-hit areas of the flood-affected people from Chitral and internally displaced persons from Fata had created more difficulties and problems for the disaster management institutions.

Under the law, the NDMC is empowered to `lay down policies on disaster management, approve the national plan, approve plans prepared by the ministries or divisions of the federal government in accordance with the national plan, lay down guidelines to be followed by federal government and provincial authorities, arrange for, and oversee, the provision of funds for the purpose of mitigation measures, preparednessandresponse,provide suchsupporttoothercountries affected by major disasters as federal government may determine and take such other measures for the prevention of disaster, or the mitigation, or for preparedness and capacitybuilding for dealing with disaster situation as it may consider necessary`