KARACHI: Leader of Opposition in Sindh Assembly Haleem Adil Sheikh on Sunday raised questions over transparency and effectiveness of relief operation of the Pakistan Peoples’ Party government in flood-hit areas of the province and accused the ruling party of misappropriation of funds and relief aid being offered to victims of the natural calamity.

Addressing a press conference in Sindh Assembly, he said he had heard very disturbing stories about plight of flood survivors in Sindh.

“They are still in rescue phase and their rehabilitation is yet to start,” he said. “Despite funding of billions of rupees, Johi-Dadu Main Nara Valley drain embankment could not be strengthened. Rice Canal, Hamal Lake and Manchhar Lake suffered breaches. The natural waterways like Puran Dhoro are blocked due to illegal encroachments. If the excess water of Manchhar Lake had been discharged without considering the constituency of Sindh chief minister earlier, heavy losses could have been decreased,” he claimed.

He said diseases, including dengue, were spreading fast in flood affected areas.

He said snake bite patients were being rushed to government hospitals where no facilities were there for these patients.

“Planeloads of relief goods are coming every day, but no one knows where they are going,” said the opposition leader. “Bilawal Zardari is said to have collected Rs130 billion in just one hour, but in whose pocket these funds have gone as flood victims have not received a rupee from this amount,” he alleged.

He said that a number of relief organisations were working for the flood victims, but the Sindh government was seen nowhere.

He accused Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Memon of misleading the people of Sindh through ‘fake news’.

“Sharjeel Memon claims that 172,000 tents are provided to flood victims, but in which village? Where did the one Lakh tarpaulins go; and one million mosque nets, where are they? As an opposition leader it is my right to raise these questions,” he said.

He said Sindh finance department released Rs7 billion for 23 districts of Sindh, but no one knew where they were spent.

In Karachi, he said, 11 residents were murdered within a week, but the police were deployed to harass him. He said police had failed to give citizens protection. He said wheat flour was being sold at Rs105 per kilogramme and electricity was made costlier.

He said in Lahore he had been arrested in a manner as if he was being kidnapped by more than 15 ‘private persons’.

He said footage of this incident was present otherwise he might have been killed at some unknown place.

Published in Dawn, September 12th, 2022