Working together

Devastation continues in the country as people and government both try to deal with the floods which have till now claimed 1000 lives in Pakistan. As we watch rescue operations live on TV, it is obvious that this is a catastrophe of epic proportions – birthed by the increasing climate challenges we face and compounded by a broken governance system. The 2010 floods had wreaked havoc and there are still IDPs that remain internally displaced from 12 years back. Alarmingly, officials say 2022 is much worse than 2010 and it will result in millions of displaced people, food shortages across the country and much worse. An already barely-standing economy will see the impact in ways that have not been witnessed before. Bailout packages by the IMF and help from friendly countries may have saved us from default but we need monumental help from the international community due to the devastation caused by the relentless floods. Apart from the federal government, all provincial governments and the army, along with several local organizations and individuals are busy helping those affected by the floods.

And yet even in this time of a national emergency, it is unfortunate to see disunity amongst the political class. While PTI Chairman Imran Khan has announced that he will be holding a telethon to raise funds for flood affectees tonight, in the same breath he also made it clear that the party’s “movement for Haqeeqi Azadi will continue” alongside the PTI’s flood relief work. True to form, and never one to let an opportunity to troll go by, Imran has blamed government-friendly media and ‘paid journalists’ for asking that political rallies not be held during a time of emergency. One is not sure what the former prime minister seeks in his rallies at a time when literally the whole country needs to put all of its efforts together to ensure that those that have lost their everything in the floods are given hearth and home to try at a new beginning. Around 15 per cent of Pakistan’s population is without shelter and struggling to survive. Their livelihoods have been lost, their livestock have drowned, some of them have lost their loved ones, while others are trying to find food and shelter. When the media talks about their plight and tries to give sane counsel to all political stakeholders, the former PM finds it justifiable to attack the media and his opponents for highlighting the most important issue we are facing right now.

The PTI chairman is welcome to hold all the rallies he wants to, he is welcome to continue his almost obsessive issue with most of the media and journalists in the country, he is welcome even to call his opponents thieves or corrupt, all the while as his provincial government tries to sabotage the IMF package all they want. But at the end of it the truth is that the misery wrought by the devastation will mean that the flood affectees will remember that there was a leader who first said that he wouldn’t raise funds for flood victims, then changed his mind, but then doubled down on holding rallies even in terms of floods or war. If the PTI thinks that political rallies cannot take a backseat even for a few weeks, this is on them and not on the media. Finding conspiracies in everything may be the PTI’s forte but it doesn’t take away from the fact that any effort to help the flood victims will fall short. The coming months, especially a harsh winter due to climate change and major impending foot shortages, will be difficult for the flood victims and the country – and we will need everyone to pull together on this.