Britain takes Pakistani MPs to task

Envoy says he did not see parliamentarians making the sacrifices required for such a disaster.

KARACHI: Britain’s High Commissioner to Pakistan, Adam Thomson, on Wednesday criticised the lack of response to the flood situation by Pakistan’s parliamentarians, saying that reports of elected representatives paying little or no tax “sends a wrong signal to the world.”

He also criticised the media for moving the focus away from what is the worst natural disaster to hit any country in decades.

In what is being seen as a recurring theme from donor nations, there is a demand that the people of Pakistan pay taxes so that the government can provide more relief from its own resources.

Speaking to media-persons in Karachi on Wednesday, Thomson said that Britain has raised over Rs25 billion in public and private money for Pakistan’s flood relief, making this the largest British response to any natural disaster anywhere in the world.

The high commissioner pointed out that despite international help, the bulk of the response would have to come from within Pakistan. “We cannot bail you out,” he added.

Thomson said that while Pakistan expects an exceptional response from the world, the world too expects an exceptional response from Pakistan.

“I am puzzled at the lack of impact of the floods on the political and economic activity of the country,” he said, adding that he did not see members of parliament making the sacrifices required for such a disaster.

He also noted that parliamentarians should unite and take the initiative for relief work, “which is not happening.” The British envoy said that provincial governments should give the people “a greater sense of direction.”

While recognising government efforts on flood relief, Thomson said that the larger picture remained ignored. “We need to know what the government plans to do in the long term. We do not get a sense of this.”

Thomson’s theme remained that Pakistanis have to do more to bail out those who have been stricken by the floods and not expect aid from the rest of the world.

He said that despite the enormity of the disaster, four out of five affected people were farmers and largely rural areas had been affected.

The high commissioner said that given the nature and extent of disaster witnessed in Pakistan, one expected that “exceptional things should be happening and difficult and hard decisions should be taken.” He said so far there was no evidence of this happening.

Nick Clegg, British Deputy Prime Minister, had on Thursday pledged long-term support to Pakistan. He had also visited flood-hit soon after the disaster struck.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 30^th, 2010.