MIRPURKHAS: Pakistan Peoples Party chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has criticised distribution of relief goods by President of Pakistan Arif Alvi among flood-affected people in Mirpurkhas and said the help is insufficient.

He demanded the federal government immediately announce agriculture emergency to provide compensation to flood-affected growers and relaxation in recovery of bank loans.

He said at a reception given in his honour by MPA Zulfikar Ali Shah in Syed Khadim Ali Shah village on Saturday that he hoped the federal government would now awaken to the plight of flood affectees of Sindh after local media had highlighted the issue on national and international level.

He urged the federal government to provide monetary help to the flood victims through Watan card as a large number of affectees were still deprived of relief goods. The relief distribution under Sindh government should be transparent and all jiyalas should play their role in helping the affectees, he said.

He said that Sindh government did not have enough resources to respond to such a massive disaster and urgently needed help from the federal government. PPP government had in past helped the poor through Benazir Income Support Programme as his party always focused on grievances of poor, he said.

MPA Zulfikar Shah drew Bilawal’s attention towards chronic issues afflicting Mirpurkhas and said the division had been deprived of NICVD and a chest pain unit.

The civil hospital too was in a shabby condition and badly needed rehabilitation, he said.

The PPP chairman was accompanied by provincial minister Hari Ram Kishori Lal, MNA Mir Munawwar Ali Khan Talpur, PPP secretary information Aajiz Dhamra, MNA Shamim Ara Panhwar and others.

Published in Dawn, September 13th, 2020