Karachi fire: Miftah lambasts 'inept' PPP's Sindh govt

KARACHI:

Former federal finance minister and Awaam Pakistan (AP) party's leader Miftah Ismail has lambasted the PPP's Sindh government over its alleged failure to protect citizens' lives and properties.

Miftah stated that the PPP has been in power in Sindh for the past 18 years but it could not control the fire that engulfed a huge business establishment — Gul Plaza — in the heart of Sindh's capital.

"If it [the PPP government] cannot even control fires in Karachi [Sindh's most developed city], one can imagine the situation in the interior of Sindh," the politician said in a press conference held under the auspices of an opposition parties' alliance — the TTAP.

Expressing sorrow over the tragic incident in which six people died and dozens went missing, he said the tragic fire at Gul Plaza was deeply regrettable. Miftah Ismail said if a government lacks a genuine mandate, it cannot bring about change.

He urged the authorities to show concern for the public, warning that hunger and poverty are spreading and the poor are becoming poorer. Miftah said the government had released two surveys — labour and household — within the past few weeks, which showed a rise in poverty.

He said the poor have become 18% poorer, the average Pakistani has become 12% poorer, and incomes have remained at 2010 levels to date, while real incomes have been declining since 2021. The politician who served as the country's finance minister during the PML-N's rule in 2022 before getting disgruntled with the party said that in 2018, 16% of households worried about having enough food, whereas today that figure has risen to 25%.

This means that one-quarter of the population does not know where their next meal will come from.

Miftan said in 2018 every Pakistani consumed more food than they do today, adding that someone who could eat four eggs in 2018 cannot afford even one egg today.