LAHORE: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leaders Chaudhry Manzoor Ahmed and Syed Hassan Murtaza criticised the government for its “poor response” to the recent floods, demanding an audit of the 2023 floods and alleging delay in the call for international aid.

At a press conference held here on Tuesday, Manzoor stated that the government delayed declaring a flood emergency and appealing for international aid. He said both steps should have been taken during the critical first 72 hours of the calamity.

Referring to Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz’s earlier stance that the government would not appeal for international assistance, he highlighted Pakistan’s worsening position in the global climate change rankings, moving from third to first spot in terms of vulnerability.

He claimed that the scale of the destruction in Punjab’s flood-hit tehsils is so immense that even three provincial budgets would not be enough to compensate for the damage.

Azma says allies are just a political compulsion

Manzoor noted that crops have been buried under several feet of sand in what he called the worst flood in the river Sutlej, which has thrice witnessed a high flow exceeding 350,000 cusecs.

The PPP leaders demanded the government should provide cash assistance to the flood-hit people through the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), arguing that this mode of payment would maintain their dignity as they would not have to stand in long queues for receiving aid.

They also demanded that the affected farmers be compensated for their destroyed crops following a proper survey (Girdawari).

Manzoor also accused the government of attempting to privatise food security institutions like the Zarai Taraqiati Bank, Pakistan Agricultural Storage and Services Corporation (Passco), and Utility Stores Corporation, which had been playing a vital role during the past floods.

Mr Murtaza, while answering the media questions, called the government’s announcement to waive off one-month electricity bills for the flood-hit people a “joke,” suggesting a minimum of six-month waiver of bills should be announced.

He criticised the government for claiming credit for providing relief to the flood-hit people, instead of providing tangible help to them, saying the affected people “do not want the government’s flour and charity.”

Comparing the flood management measures taken in Punjab with those in Sindh, he claimed the latter’s government was more prepared to handle the calamity due to clearing of encroachments in the waterways.

He highlighted the extensive flood damage in the Jhang district, where sugarcane, maize and paddy crops have been completely destroyed.

Murtaza stressed that the real problems for the flood-hit people are only beginning, and the government must stand by them to help them get back on their feet.

Meanwhile, lashing out at the PPP for its criticism of the Punjab government’s handling of the recent flood and the affected people, provincial minister for Information and Culture Azma Bukhari says the PML-N is tolerating its allies just because of “political compulsion”.

In Punjab, the PML-N government has three main allies -- the PPP of the Bhuttos, the PML-Q of Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and the Istehkam-i-Pakistan Party of Aleem Khan.

“At present, our only focus is on public service. It is due to political compulsion that we are tolerating our allies, but this does not mean we have to listen to the PPP’s failed theories and false philosophies,” Ms Bokhari said in a statement on Tuesday.

She says the PTI alone is sufficient to cry over its “political unemployment” and there is no need for the PPP to step into this narrative.

Ms Bokhari says the PPP leaders Manzoor Chaudhry and Hassan Murtaza should present their grievances and theories to the PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto and Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, instead of indulging in political point scoring in Punjab.

She says that Sindh had not suffered any major human or financial losses due to the recent floods, yet the PPP is pressurising the federation to seek foreign aid, which reflected a “non-serious approach.”

“The PPP and its defeated leaders must first focus on addressing the problems of the people of Sindh, where victims of the 2022 floods are still waiting for relief,” she says.

The minister says Punjab is facing the worst flood in the country’s history, adding that the administration in the province is working day and night for the relief and rehabilitation of flood victims.

“The Punjab government is providing all-possible assistance to the [flood] victims from its own resources and has not looked towards the federation or any other organisation for help. CM Maryam has redirected all available resources and government machinery toward the affected areas,” the minister says.

Published in Dawn, September 17th, 2025