ISLAMABAD Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani has said that the topmost priority of his Government is to provide alternate shelters and tents to the people displaced from their houses in the recent floods, which have done unprecedented devastations across the country. He further said that his Government was planning to offer cash compensation to the affected people for rebuilding their damaged or destroyed house after recession of the floodwaters. Since the cash compensation in this regard alone involved an amount of approximately US $3 billion, therefore, the international community and Islamic world in particular should expedite their assistance to help his Government implement this plan. The Prime Minister was talking to Prof Dr Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, Secretary General OIC, who called on him here at the Prime Ministers House on Monday afternoon. The Prime Minister appreciated OIC Secretary Generals gesture of expressing solidarity with the people of Pakistan by undertaking his present visit and from his initiatives to mobilise assistance from the Muslim world for the flood affected people. The Prime Minister thanked the Secretary General for convening the Emergency Coordination Meeting of relief organisations of OIC countries in Islamabad on Sunday last during which pledges of US $1 billion, including the assistance of US $5 to $7 million. He also noted, with appreciation, the fact that OIC Secretary General had earlier convened the Emergency Meeting of permanent representatives of OIC countries in Jeddah to sensitise the member states and create better awareness among them about the magnitude and scale of destruction and losses caused by this natural catastrophe. The Prime Minister hoped that OICs efforts would soon be translated into practical support, as time was the most important factor in the relief and rehabilitation efforts of his government. The Prime Minister while assuring the OIC Secretary General of his governments full support to his proposals for establishing an OIC Emergency Disaster Response Fund to help the member states in the future in case of such natural disasters, underlined the need for OICs focus on using its influence with Saudi Development Funds, Kuwait Development Fund and similar funds of the Gulf and other Muslim countries to help Pakistan in its rehabilitation and reconstruction phases. The Secretary General OIC conveyed his heartfelt condolences and commensuration to the Prime Minister on the losses of lives and extensive damage to the properties and physical infrastructure caused by the floods and assured the Prime Minister that OIC would do whatever was possible to help Pakistan in this hour of need. Dr Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu stated that his helicopter visit to flood-affected area of Rajanpur on Sunday morning had further strengthened his impression that while the Government of Pakistan was making organised efforts and was in control of the flood situation, yet it needed urgent assistance to cope up with this unprecedented devastation. The Secretary General said that he had impressed upon the relief organisations of Muslim countries that destruction and losses of Pakistans floods was far greater than the combined damages caused by Tsunami, earthquake of 2005 in Pakistan and Haiti last year, therefore, contributions and help should also be corresponding with the scale. Noting the Prime Ministers top priority of providing tents and shelters to displaced persons, Dr Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu said OIC would try to generate funds for urgent procurement of tents from wherever possible for their urgent delivery to the Government of Pakistan. He said that as head of this organisation, he considers it a duty to mobilise Muslim Ummah for helping their Pakistani brethren in distress and hence would undertake every effort possible to galvanise Muslim worlds support for Pakistan in these hard times.