KARACHI: Facing criticism over the recent performance of his party’s Sindh government, Pakistan People’s Party chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Saturday asked the provincial ministers to stay on the roads till the last drop of rainwater was drained out from every city, town and village of the province.

The PPP chairman defe­nded the Sindh government’s performance and blamed the record-breaking spells of monsoon rains, as the reason behind the crisis. In a separate message, he urged the people facing tyranny and falsehood to “follow in the footsteps of Imam Hussain by resisting tyranny, falsehood and oppression”.

A statement issued by Bilawal House said that the PPP chairman, while speaking to Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, Minister for Local Government Nasir Hussain Shah and Minister for Public Health Enginee­ring Mir Shabbir Ali Bijarani over the phone, praised the provincial cabinet members for working on the ground through better coordination.

Sindh government facing criticism over performance in the aftermath of rain

“Nasir Shah apprised the party chairman about the areas so far cleared of rainwater in Karachi, Hyder­abad, Larkana, Sukkur, Mir­purkhas and said that drainage operations were in full swing everywhere in the province,” said the statement.

“The public health engineering minister told the PPP chairman that due to an overflowing irrigation system, the drainage was slow in different parts of the province. However, all resources available with the Public Health Engineering Department are being utilised to drain out rainwater besides protecting the irrigation canals from developing breaches.”

Read: What caused the floods in Karachi?

Mr Bhutto-Zardari, the statement said, asked the chief minister and his cabinet members to conduct the damage assessment so that timely rehabilitation of affected people could be carried out.

“The PPP chairman expressed sorrow over the loss of human lives in Sindh and other parts of the country and asked the federal and provincial governments to announce adequate compensation for those people who had lost their dear and near ones or their livelihoods during the worst monsoon rains witnessed in decades,” it said.

In a separate statement issued to extend a message on Yaum-i-Ashur, which would be observed on Sunday (today), the PPP chairman called upon the people to “follow in the footsteps of Imam Hussain by resisting tyranny, falsehood and oppression”.

“Tyranny and falsehood wherever it may be, whether near the home or far away, whether in Kashmir or in Palestine, must be fought and the tyrant’s head put down,” he said. “Torture and enforced disappearances are also tyranny and Yaum-i-Ashur this year is significant also as it falls on the eve of international day of the disappeared.”

Therefore, he said, on this day one should condemn and resist the perpetrators of these crimes against humanity anywhere in the world.

“Falsehood and oppression are weapons employed by militants and extremists. The people must be watchful against the designs of the fanatics. Today we reiterate our resolve to never submit before oppression and injustice nor let the evil triumph over the good and the noble,” the PPP chairman said.

Published in Dawn, August 30th, 2020