Home minister rebuffs fatality reports

Saleem Khosa says PDMA is monitoring the situation in affected areas

QUETTA: The government of Balochistan has denied reports about “citizens’ deaths” in the province’s drought-stricken areas.

At a press conference on Monday, Home Minister Mir Saleem Khosa said reports related to the death of people in 12 districts affected by long-lingering drought are “baseless”.

The minister, who also looks after the portfolio of Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA), said that the government has started relief operations in the drought-stricken region.

Provincial Minister for Information and Higher Education Mir Zahoor Buledi was also present on the occasion.



Khosa said: “Provincial Disaster Management Authority, Balochistan has been monitoring the drought situation in the 12 districts. And to tackle this situation, the provincial government has approved Rs5 billion under Balochistan Rural Support Scheme.”

The minister said a large number of people in Balochistan’s cold areas migrate to districts with warm temperatures. Therefore, he said, he wouldn’t buy the notion that people’s influx is due to drought conditions. He vehemently called the death reports as untrue.



“Balochistan has been witnessing a period of drought in every 39 months due to lack of rain and decreasing water-level while the province had witnessed severe drought back in 1955 and 2003,” the minister recalled.

He added the PDMA has sought reports from all deputy commissioners of drought-hit areas and relief goods are being dispatched there.

“A total of 346,114 people in Kharan, Nushki, Musakhail, Washuk, Panjgur, Kachi, and Jhal Magsi were affected by the drought. The government of Balochistan has completed all preparations to tackle this new challenge,” Khosa added.