Opposition playing ‘jalsa’, we’ll deal with floods: Bilawal

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman and Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has said the opposition is playing “jalsa, jalsa” while they will deal with the flood catastrophe.

Bilawal said the rain-related floods had wreaked havoc in Pakistan. “The devastation is spread from one corner of the country to the other. Rain-related floods have ruined peoples’ shelters, crops and everything. Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit and Sindh provinces have been hit very badly. The Sindh province has undergone the worst of all-time high catastrophe,” he said in an interview with the BBC on Saturday. Bilawal said every district of Sindh had been badly affected and the Sindh government marked them as the worst calamity-hit zones.

Talking about the politics of opposition, he said it was sad that amid this huge devastation, politicking was being done intensely. “Wherever there is a flood or an earthquake in the world, the whole country unites and helps the victims,” he said and added: “It is our priority to lessen the agonies of the flood victims. Wherever the victims can get relief, let us deliver that relief.” The PPP chairman said this time it rained so heavily that he had to postpone his visit to the European Union because it was his duty to stay among those affected. He was of the view that there would be time for doing other activities, including politics. “It is time to assist the flood victims now. Our rivals whether in the government or in the opposition always lacked interest in such matters.”

He pointed out that the current opposition was in the government in 2020, but it did not support the flood victims of Sindh. Imran Khan’s own province had been affected but sadly he was busy with political point-scoring. “Imran Khan is holding political gatherings,” he said and added that what could be said if the opposition wanted to keep busy with political point-scoring.

Bilawal said the rain-related floods had so far rendered above 80,000 homeless in District Larkana alone. Amid this escalating catastrophe, the resources were very limited to cater to the needs of those affected. There was an immediate need for tents, raw and cooked foods and medicine to help the affected. The rains that started from June continued till end of August, and still the relief and rescue process was on the go.

He said that a large-scale migration had already set in as people were shifting from flood-affected areas to safer dry areas. “The government will provide all necessities such as tents and food, and arrangements have been made at schools, colleges and government buildings for their temporary shelters,” he said, adding that the next process would be the rehabilitation of the affected areas and the infrastructure of the flood-hit areas would have to be rebuilt.

Counting on the high numbers of casualties and damages, he feared an increase in human casualties. He said there was no government in the world capable of dealing with a natural calamity at this huge scale. “It is our top priority to provide tents to the victims for temporary shelters. The Sindh government has 90,000 tents available, which do not meet our needs. At least 1 million tents are required.”

He said the government and society were working together to provide food and assistance to the affected. During the 2020 floods, the victims did not get anything, but today the victims were expected to receive assistance through the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP). He admired the secure system of the BISP, through which people are being helped out. He said that before the BISP, there was no victim assistance system available in the country through which “we could have helped people in difficult times”.

Meanwhile, in Sukkur, United Nations Resident Coordinator & Humanitarian Coordinator in Pakistan Julien Harneis called on Bilawal. Bilawal and Harneis discussed the deadly flood damages in the country. Harneis expressed grief over the loss of human lives.

Bilawal acknowledged the efforts of the United Nations for the flood victims and urged that the UN play its role in international assistance for millions of marooned people in flood-hit areas. He said Pakistan would soon appeal to the international body for emergency assistance.