ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani has taken notice of the meteorological department’s poor performance, which has led to the prevailing disaster in the country.
A senior official told The Express Tribune that PM Gilani has sought an explanation from the director-general of the meteorological department, Qamar Zaman Chaudhry, over his department’s performance.
He said that authorities responsible to avert any disaster-like situation informed the PM that the meteorological department had forecast light monsoons this year. “Gilani has not only sought an explanation but also directed Chaudhry for helpful and effective forecast advisory in the days to come,” he added. “We can’t see hundreds of thousands people losing their homes only because of poor forecast,” he quoted Prime Minister as saying in a meeting.
The official said the DG Met office had claimed on June 28 during a briefing at the Prime Minister’s Secretariat that the upcoming monsoons will be normal and there won’t be any heavy rains. “Monsoons will only fill our water reservoirs and no floods are expected,” he quoted Chaudhry as saying.
The official said that on the same occasion the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) chairman, General (retired) Farooq Ahmed also claimed that all preparations had been made to avert any eventuality, though no floods had been forecast by the Met office.
Interior Minister Rehman Malik also told The Express Tribune that the prime minister wants to upgrade the Met office to increase its efficiency.
“Factual forecast helps us to prepare all relevant authorities to cope with any emerging untoward situation,” he said.
Meanwhile addressing a large gathering in Sargodha, the PM said that the US has been told to trust Pakistan’s institutions as it has rendered more sacrifices than the NATO forces in Afghanistan.
The PM’s comments come as fingers are being pointed at the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) for having links with Taliban, after a massive intelligence leak of US military documents.
The PM criticised British Prime Minister David Cameron’s statement in India in which he accused Pakistan of promoting terrorism. “Why did the prime minister not raise the issue of human rights violations in the occupied Kashmir by Indian armed forces?” he said. “It would have been better if he (Cameron) had talked about the issue there and won the hearts of the Pakistanis,” Gilani added.
On relations with India, Gilani said that Pakistan wanted to resolve all issues with its neighbour, including that of Kashmir, Siachen and Sir Creek, through dialogue and in a respectable fasion.(WITH ADDITIONAL INPUT FROM APP)
Published in The Express Tribune, August 1st, 2010.
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