Govt asked to extend ‘help’ to owners of vehicles damaged in Islamabad hailstorm

The federal government and the Islamabad administration have been urged to extend financial assistance to the owners of the vehicles which were damaged in a heavy hailstorm in the federal capital on Wednesday last, reported 24NewsHD TV channel on Saturday.

Senate Standing Committee on Interior Chairman Senator Faisal Saleem wrote a letter to the Interior Ministry and Islamabad Chief Commissioner, recommending financial aid for the vehicles’ owners.

Heavy hailstorms struck Islamabad and parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Wednesday last, causing widespread damage to vehicles, windscreens, and solar panels.

The hailstorm, accompanied by strong winds, lashed the region in the afternoon and in Islamabad, the storm lasted around 35 minutes, with large hailstones, some bigger the size of a golf ball, smashing vehicle windscreens and damaging trees.

Children playing in parks were caught off guard by the sudden storm and were seen running home in fear.

PPP Senator and former climate change minister Sherry Rehman had then termed the scenes witnessed as being “insane”, adding that hail was “coming down like pellets”. “This is extreme weather volatility driven by climate change, where anomalies proliferate. Not a random natural event. And related entirely to human actions like emissions, which are growing because of addiction to dirty energy,” she said in a post on X.

In his letter, Senator Failsal Saleem maintained that helping citizens would not only reduce their financial burden but it would also be seen as a goodwill gesture.

He also urged the authorities to make the procedure swift and fair for payment of funds from insurance companies.

Reporter Usman Khan