BADIN: Pakistan Peoples Party chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Friday hit out at the federal government and said it was not ready to help people of Sindh in their difficult hour while the prime minister did not even bother to issue a statement to express sympathy for rain and flood victims.

Speaking to a gathering of rain affectees, general public and party workers in Tando Bago, the worst hit town of the district, he said that the federal government did issue an appeal to international community to help rain and flood victims of Sindh but the prime minister did not take the trouble to visit them and be among them.

He advised the prime minister to visit rain-hit areas and said if he sincerely extended a helping hand to the rain affectees of Sindh he would be warmly welcomed. “I want to let Pakistanis know that I am among flood victims of Sindh and I am helping them during their difficult hour. It is heart breaking to see how people are suffering due to lack of help,” he said.

He said the federal government had failed to give rights to Sindh but people knew very well the way to Islamabad and they would not hesitate to go there to seek their rights. The federal government had withheld Rs200 billion of Sindh and was not even ready to release the remaining amount of NFC award, he said.

He claimed the federal government would not release any funds to the rain victims of Sindh on the pretext that the economy was on the decline.

Bilawal said the PPP was a democratic party and anti-democratic forces were always creating hurdles to stop it. People were given false hopes by Imran Khan that he would provide houses to the homeless and create millions of jobs for youths. Instead he rendered millions jobless and homeless, he said.

He said in a sarcastic tone that a ‘selected’ federal minister was missing here. If he had been genuinely elected he should have resigned.

He said the ‘selected’ government was swallowing up national resources with both hands. There was no accountability of special assistant to the prime minister but “they” were only ready to “bark” at the opposition, he said, adding that the federal government had double standards.

Bilawal appealed to donors to come forward and generously help rain victims and said the Sindh government was spending its own resources on the rehabilitation of rain victims. The chief minister was scheduled to meet ambassadors of 15 countries to request them for aid, he said.

The PPP chief was scheduled to visit a tent city and distribute ration bags among people but he had to put it off and concluded the visit with a brief tour of Phuleli Guni Outfall Drain, Golarchi

He was accompanied by Dr Sikandar Mandhro, Amjad Shah, Ramzan Chandio and other MPAs and MNAs of the district.

Published in Dawn, September 12th, 2020