PAKISTAN has indeed been devastated by the recent floods that destroyed infrastructure, displacing millions of people and leaving close to 2,000 people dead. Standing crops were destroyed and there are doubts about the next seasonal crop because the floodwater has still not been completely drained out. Besides, those in the flood relief shelters, including children and expecting mothers, have their own tales to tell, with hunger and diseases being the main features of their existence.

As happens in almost every calamity, relief and rehabilitation operations have been led by the armed forces in the remotest of areas, especially in Sindh and Balochistan. All such far-off places have a large number of lords having millions of acres of land against their name and earning billions of rupees for years and years, but it is unfortunate that when the times get tough, they are seldom seen anywhere close to their own areas.

They prefer to spend time in their urban abodes, waiting for the government to announce some financial relief for the affected people. Once that happens, they become the ‘most affected’ people and made the most of such an opportunity.

Equally heartless are people who have been known to be hoarding a large stock of life-saving drugs even when dengue, malaria and other maladies are rampant in the affected areas. There is no fear of any accountability on anybody’s part.

Mansoor ul Haque Solangi
Karachi

Published in Dawn, October 14th, 2022