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KARACHI, June 27: The legal fraternity on Wednesday condemned the city and provincial governments for their apparent failure to provide adequate relief to the people following the recent rains and asked for the provision of these facilities on an emergency basis.
Singh High Court Bar Association General-Secretary Shaikh Munir-ur-Rehman said on the telephone that the lawyers were worried about the deaths of citizens due to the negligence of the civic agencies and expressed the hope that the courts would take cognizance of the incidents.
He said the situation in government hospitals and other municipal departments was also pathetic which, he said, exposed the claims of the officials and the elected representatives.
“It is the duty of the government to protect the lives of the citizens and provide them with all basic facilities, especially in the hour of need. But it (the government) did nothing for the people’s welfare,” he added.
‘CM’s failure’
Karachi Bar Association (KBA) Vice President Qadir Khan and General-Secretary Naeem Qureshi, while talking to journalists at the City Courts, condemned Sindh Chief Minister Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim for what they said was his failure to fulfil his duties and urged him to take drastic steps for the welfare of the people.
They said the situation showed that there was no government to minimise the miseries of the people, saying that only baseless statements were being issued to the press by the ministers and officials of the local bodies and effective practical steps were yet to be taken.
They expressed concern over the poor situation of mortuaries in the government hospitals and added that officials were roaming in costly land cruisers, but they had never bothered to establish an official network of ambulances.
It was said the government had warned the sons of noted social worker Abdul Sattar Edhi to avoid giving the actual casualty figures to the media and the attempt of hiding the facts was another blunder of the government.
Killer hoardings
About the hoardings, they said nobody could install a single board without the permission of the officials concerned, saying that they (officials) were directly responsible for the deaths of people.
They said compensation of at least Rs500,000 should be paid to the families of those who had died and had been injured in the rains and stressed the need that all morgues in the government hospitals be made functional and with all facilities available in the healthcare centres.
The KBA leaders said the monsoon rains were yet to start and all the activities had already been paralysed with two days of rain which, they said, was enough proof of the government’s failure to face the challenges.
“Lawyers are planning to file petitions in the Sindh High Court on various issues as the officials are not serious about taking practical steps for the protection of the lives and properties of the people,” they added.
They said the people themselves witnessed the government’s inefficient policies and added that it was time to come out on the streets against these injustices as the people would not tolerate injustice any longer.
The KBA leaders said the movement for the independence of the judiciary was launched in a state of compulsion as the rulers were not ready to give the people their rights.
