Marriyum urges Imran to shun politics

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb on Thursday asked PTI chief Imran Khan to join the government’s rescue and relief efforts in different parts of the country which are under water after torrential rains and unprecedented floods.

“This is not the right time for politicking and dividing the people instead there is a need to show solidarity and unity for the sake of those who have been passing through difficult times due to flash floods which caused heavy loss of life and property,” the minister said while addressing a news conference.

Flanked by Coordinator to the Prime Minister on Energy and Economy Bilal Kiyani, she said it is not the right time to hold public gatherings as the people are in dire need of help at the moment.

“Shun politics and join us in helping the people who have lost the members of their family, homes, livestock and crops in the floods,” she added.

The minister said that 60 percent of the country is under water and 1,200 people have lost their lives, while 4,000 have got injured so far whereas some 400 children are also among the dead.

“This is an evolving situation and the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) is monitoring the situation and sharing the flood related updates regularly,” she noted.

Marriyum said the country is in the grip of climate change phenomena despite contributing less than one percent in the carbon emission. It has faced intense heat wave in the summer and the intensity of flood is also “unprecedented” due to massive rains which are recorded 450 percent more than the previous monsoon seasons.

She said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has visited the flood-affected areas in Balochistan, Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and would visit other areas to assess the on-ground situation.

The prime minister is personally monitoring the flood situation and holding meetings with international donor agencies to bring normalcy in the affected areas by ensuring timely provision of relief goods to the people, she added.

The minister said the federal government, NDMA, Pakistan Army and civil administration are vigorously carrying out rescue and relief operations in the flood-hit areas. Heli operations are also underway in those areas where the connectivity has been disrupted due to flash floods, she said.

Marriyum siad an amount of Rs15 billion has been disbursed among 600,000 families from the Prime Minister Emergency Relief Fund as Rs25,000 is being given to each family through the Benazir Income Support Programme.

She said funds amounting to Rs15 billion has been given to Sindh, while Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa received Rs10 billion for providing relief to the people.

The minister said the prime minister had constituted the National Flood Response and Coordination Centre which had representation of all the provincial governments, armed forces and experts. The centre, headed by the prime minister, would help give institutional response to the flood calamity.

She said surveys are being conducted in the flood-hit areas to ensure education and health of the people. A rehabilitation and reconstruction plan is being worked out by a committee headed by Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal and the plan would be presented to the prime minister soon, she added.

Marriyum said communication infrastructure is being repaired and restored in the flood-hit areas, while Minister for Power Khurram Dastagir is visiting different parts of Sindh and KP where the electricity transmission has suspended due to the floods.

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) leader Nawaz Sharif is personally monitoring the rescue and relief operations, and is being briefed on the flood situation regularly, she said.

The minister lauded the media for guiding the government in the rescue and relief operations, and running a massive campaign for the PM’s relief fund. The role of international donor agencies and friendly countries which are sending relief goods to Pakistan is commendable.

She also appreciated the corporate sector role and efforts of Pakistan Army soldiers and officials of civil administrations for carrying out rescue and relief activities across the country. She urged the Punjab and KP governments to fully focus on the flood-affected areas.

“If these provincial governments indulged themselves in organising Imran Khan’s jalsas (public gatherings) then who will take care of the people who have been facing the flood devastation,” she questioned.

Imran Khan should visit the flood-hit areas instead of holding public gatherings as it is not the time for politics, she stressed. She came down hard on Imran Khan for rejecting PM Shehbaz Sharif’s call for cooperation amidst the floods. He (Imran) is hurling abuses on his political opponents and blaming them all the time.

“Imran Khan cannot blame others now as it is he who had ruled the country for the last four years and now the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf has its governments in two provinces,” she remarked.

She regretted that Imran Khan had conspired against the country by making botched attempts to sabotage the International Monetary Fund deal with the country. He is the “enemy” of the country, she alleged.

The minister said Imran Khan himself admitted today that he is a dangerous person. “Yes, he is truly dangerous for the national security, media and economy.” She alleged that Imran Khan is “fascist” and “Machiavellian” as he threatened the incumbent chief election commissioner and a female magistrate for giving decisions against him.

Marriyum said she had written to the Bank of Punjab and others for determining how much funds had been collected by Imran Khan on account of flood donations as it was the government’s responsibility to ensure transparent utilisation of funds received in the name of a natural calamity. As per his track record, she said, Imran Khan had used all the funds which he collected in the name of natural disasters for his politics.