The PPP central leadership, mindful of the sensitivities of its election alliance with the PML-N, has been cautious in its remarks about flood relief in Punjab. However, it has targeted the PTI-led government in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) for its alleged failure to deal with recent floods.
PPP Central Secretary Information Nadeem Afzal Chan and Punjab General Secretary Syed Hassan Murtaza, addressing a news conference at the Central Secretariat in Islamabad on Friday, said the party avoided point-scoring.
They argued that in the K-P, where the PTI has been in power for 13 years, the flood situation had worsened due to illegal encroachments and the timber mafia.
Chan said PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari had visited flood-hit areas nationwide and even praised the Punjab government during his stop in Kasur.
"Though floods have caused massive destruction in Punjab, in the K-P there are issues of the timber mafia and encroachments," the PPP leaders said, demanding a commission of inquiry. "The PTI's incompetence in the K-P has been fully exposed."
They noted that Bilawal had suggested to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif that relief funds be distributed through the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) data. However, the Punjab government is distributing relief goods on the basis of favoritism, they alleged.
Chan added that the PPP had tabled resolutions in the Senate, National Assembly, and all four provincial assemblies, demanding the launch of BISP relief in flood-affected areas.
He complained that farmers had not received sufficient support. In Punjab, he said, some good work has been done, but in other places it was limited to TikTok appearances.
"The best work was done by Rescue 1122. Favoritism is prevailing in Punjab, even though the government has a digital system that should be used. Farmers are suffering and crying for help. The government must also present the case of climate change before the world."
Hassan Murtaza said the devastation in Punjab was "beyond description." Faisalabad Division, he added, was the worst affected. He noted that in katcha (riverine) areas, where livestock is the main source of livelihood, the damage was severe.
"Even today, the government is violating the dignity and privacy of farmers and peasants. Citizens themselves, through self-help, are rehabilitating victims," he said.
Murtaza even praised patwaris (land revenue officials), often viewed negatively, saying they had taken on the bulk of relief work at different places. "People's livestock have been swept away, causing greatest financial losses. They have been ruined because of wrong government policies."
He urged the government to "come to its senses," saying institutions created for floods and earthquakes must be audited. "Every year damage occurswhy are permanent measures not taken to prevent such losses?" he asked.
The party's senior vice president for central Punjab and former federal climate change minister, Rana Farooq Saeed, who hails from the outskirts of Faisalabad, said "no real relief work" was visible in Punjab. "The PML-N government does not know the first thing about relief activities," he said.
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