Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Wednesday that the country’s launch of a universal emergency helpline would serve as a one-stop emergency relief point for people in crisis.
“Securing life and property of people is our utmost priority,” said the prime minister while chairing a review meeting of the Pakistan Emergency Helpline (PEHEL)-911.
The prime minister was informed that all 36 individual emergency numbers for emergency services such as fire brigade, police, health assistance, disaster recovery, and highway police would be integrated into Pakistan Emergency Helpline (PEHEL)-911.
A person will only need to dial 911, and the call center will route his call to the appropriate government agency.
This project is a collaboration between the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication and the Ministry of Interior as part of the Digital Pakistan Initiative. The Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunications’ National Telecommunication Corporation (NTC) and National Information Technology Board (NITB) will provide technical assistance and backend infrastructure for the project’s smooth execution, while the Interior Ministry is in charge of coordination among various emergency response services at the federal and provincial levels.
The prime minister directed that all necessary steps be taken to ensure that the helpline runs smoothly before its official launch in the holy month of Ramazan.
The meeting was attended by Dr. Shahbaz Gill, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister for Political Communication, Engr Miraj Gul, Chairman National Telecommunication Corporation (NTC), Syed Hussnain Abbas Kazmi, Executive Director National Information Technology Board (NITB), and other senior officers.
The meeting was attended by the chief secretaries of Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, Gilgit-Baltistan, and Azad Jammu and Kashmir via video link.
To read our blog on “Ufone ‘Mera Pakistan, Mera Ghar’ helpline,” click here.
