Pakistan PM visits heat wave-hit Karachi

Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif flew to the port city of Karachi on Wednesday, where heat waves have killed 1,250 people over the past ten days.

Sharif presided over a meeting of senior officials on the " recent intense heat wave in Karachi and the resulting casualties," the PM office said.

The prime minister was informed that the heat wave hit Karachi on June 19 and more than 65,000 patients were reported in Karachi hospitals during this period, out of which about 1,250 lost their lives.

"Most of those who lost their lives were homeless people, including beggars, whose dehydration was aggravated due to fasting in extreme weather," an official said at the meeting.

Hundreds people were still being treated in at least four government-owned and private hospitals, the provincial health departments said.

Opposition parties criticized local authorities in Karachi for failing to launch a campaign to ensure that people should not be exposed in the sun when the severe heat wave had been approaching. The meteorological department argued that a break in the routine sea breeze in the city of nearly 20 million people caused heat waves.

The power outage and shortage of water in Karachi are also blamed for the high number of deaths.

Sharif described the heat wave as "unprecedented in the history of Pakistan" and promised all departments who "shirked their responsibilities adding to public misery should be held accountable in a transparent manner."

The prime minister said lessons should be learnt from such calamities and measures be taken to avoid their recurrence in the future.

Official said hundreds of shelter centers have been set up by the local authorities, military, political parties and social welfare groups to treat the affected people.

Director of Pakistan Meteorological Department, Muhammad Hanif, said high humidity and low wind caused the severe heat wave that left hundreds of deaths in Karachi. Endi