Prime Minister Imran Khan Wednesday said that the launch of a universal emergency helpline in the country would be a one-stop emergency relief point for people in crisis.
Securing life and property of people is our utmost priority,” said the premier while chairing a review meeting on Pakistan Emergency Helpline (PEHEL)-911.
The prime minister was briefed that all the 36 individual emergency numbers for the provision of emergency services like fire brigade, police, health assistance, disaster recovery and motorway police would be integrated into Pakistan Emergency Helpline (PEHEL)-911. A person will have to dial just 911 and the call centre will forward his call to the relevant government agency.
As a part of the Digital Pakistan Initiative, this project is a joint venture of the Ministry of Information Technology & Telecommunication and the Ministry of Interior. National Telecommunication Corporation (NTC) and National Information Technology Board (NITB) of Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication will provide necessary technical assistance and backend infrastructure for the smooth execution of the project, whereas Interior Ministry is responsible for coordination among various emergency response services at the federal and provincial levels.
The prime minister directed the concerned authorities to take all necessary measures to ensure hiccup-free operations of the helpline before its actual launch in the holy month of Ramazan.
The meeting was attended by Special Assistant to the Prime Minister for Political Communication Dr Shahbaz Gill, Chairman National Telecommunication Corporation (NTC) Engr Miraj Gul, National Information Technology Board (NITB) Executive Director Syed Hussnain Abbas Kazmi and other senior officers. Chief Secretaries of Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir joined the meeting via video link.
Source: Pro Pakistani