Tit for tat: Nawaz Sharif should focus on the people instead of politics, say PPP leaders in response

PML-N has militant wing, claim PPP leaders.

KARACHI: Pakistan Peoples Party members held a press conference of its own on Tuesday to criticise the Pakistan Muslim Leage-Nawaz for ‘politicking’ rather than ‘helping’ people whose homes have been flooded by the rains.

It is a time to help dengue and rain victims, but unfortunately the PML-N leaders, who have failed to serve the people, are doing politics on the issues, said former federal ministers Raja Pervaiz Ashraf and Nazar Muhammad Gondal along with Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon and Sindh Law Minister Ayaz Soomro at a press conference at the Sindh Secretariat on Tuesday.

The PML-N’s chief Nawaz Sharif, who was in Karachi the same day, had just returned from a visit of the flood-hit parts of Sindh’s countryside. This effort was, however, appreciated by Ashraf. But he went on to say that Sharif should avoid making statements that could create confusion instead of resolving people’s problems. He was perhaps referring to the PML-N leader’s demand for general elections.

The PPP’s rebuttal was: “The elections will be held at the proper time. We do not need his suggestions,” Ashraf said, hastening to add that the government was not “afraid” of holding elections, but they believed that an elected government should be given time to complete its tenure.

“Is it possible for us to ask rain and dengue victims to vote us?” he went on to say. “It would be an injustice and against the wishes of innocent people who have lost their loved ones during the recent disaster.”

While commenting on Sharif’s visit, which included meetings with Mumtaz Bhutto, Ashraf said that the Sharif brothers have joined hands with people in Sindh who did not win a single vote from a single union council election in their constituency. He was referring to the nationalists. “These people were in a better positions in their areas. Earlier on, they won elections from the PPP’s platform, but now they have lost credibility as the people of Sindh have rejected them.”

Responding to a question, he said that President Asif Ali Zardari had directly come to Karachi upon his return from London. He monitored rescue and relief work in the disaster-hit areas of Sindh. “We are using all our resources and this is not the time for point scoring,” Ashraf said.

When asked about Nawaz Sharif’s demand that the government use Rs29 billion from the prime minister’s “discretionary funds”, Ashraf replied, “We will use all [our money] whether it is [from a] federal or provincial fund.”

The government has prepared another consignment of 0.1 million rations packets, which will be distributed among the people. It will include enough material for one family of seven for one week.

On the breaches in the Left Bank Outfall Drain (LBOD), which led to flooding in Badin, he said that the drain’s actual capacity is 6,000 cusecs but 22,000 cusecs passed through it.

On the amount of money to be distributed among the flood survivors displaced last year, he said that the prime minister has issued orders for the remaining funds for the Watan Cards to be sent. There has been a delay because the government is verifying claims.

For his part, Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon told the media that the PPP did not have a militant wing, but it was the PML-N who had close contacts with militants and armed wings operated in its rank and file. The PPP did not give details.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 21^st,  2011.