ISLAMABAD   -  Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa on Friday directed Pakistan Army troops to provide assistance to the civil administration in providing relief to the earthquake affectees in Balochistan.

According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Directorate, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa directed troops stationed at Balochistan to provide all out assistance to civil administration in rescue, relief and rehabilitation efforts to help mitigate difficulties faced by affected population of earthquake-hit areas of Balochistan. 

On Thursday, a major rescue operation, involving army, levies, Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) and aid agencies, was launched to provide medical care to the victims, besides food and relief supplies to the stricken population. An Urban Search and Rescue Team was also dispatched from Rawalpindi to assist in the rescue operation. At least 20 people were killed and over 300 sustained injuries, some of them seriously, after a devastating earthquake in different parts of the province on Thursday destroyed dozens of houses at a time when many victims were asleep.