The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) was coordinating with the Provincial Disaster Management Authorities in this regard, he said while responding to a point of order raised by former Speaker National Assembly Fehmida Mirza, who asked what steps were being taken by the government to lessen damage from the cyclone.
The minister said directives had been issued to chief secretaries and other officials of Sindh and Balochistan to take all possible steps to prevent public mobility in the identified areas. He also urged the representatives of areas to cooperate with government officials as people were reluctant to vacate their places.
He said fishermen and small craft owners in Balochistan and Karachi's coastal areas had also been advised to take precautionary measures and not to venture into deep sea until the landfall was confirmed.
The name of a new tropical cyclone is determined by sequential cycling through lists of names submitted by countries which are member of five tropical cyclone regional bodies, he added.
The minister said the cyclone 'Nilofar' was named by Pakistan as it was its turn in an alphabetical order.