Tharparkar drought: MQM censures Sindh govt as death toll rises

Latest death in the distrcit takes toll up to 55 for past 44 days

THARPARKAR: Another child died of malnutrition in drought-hit Tharparkar on Thursday taking the death toll to 55 for past 44 days, Express News reported Thursday. 

The ongoing drought has claimed up to 500 lives in the last three years.

In an attempt to address the issue, Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah - whose government has been under intense criticism for the deaths - visited Mithi on November 12.

The chief minister had also visited the civil hospital in the city to meet drought-affected patients and give compensation to the affected families.

Meanwhile, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM)'s Faisal Sabzwari on Thursday questioned the performance of the Sindh government, while censuring Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah for the Tharkparkar deaths.

"The deaths in Thar are a question mark on the performance of the Sindh government," he said.

Sabzwari, while addressing a press conference, rhetorically questioned who was to blame for the increasing death toll.

"Who should be held responsible for the shortage of relief goods? Who should be held responsible for negligence?" the MQM representative asked.

"Is it the MQM's fault if relief goods didn't reach people affected by the drought?" he questioned further.

"This all falls under the planning and Development department ... it falls under the Sindh chief minister," Sabzwari said.

On November 10, during a Sindh Assembly session, the Thar inquiry commission, headed by Justice (retd) Zahid Kurban Alavi and the PPP, were extremely critical of the health department and its failure to deal with the situation -- to which former health minister Dr Sagheer expressed annoyance.

“The health department alone cannot be held responsible for the tragedy in Thar,” Dr Sagheer had said. “There are other departments which should share equal responsibility of what happened.”

Further, Sabzwari alleged that Shah made claims of the media giving false reports regarding the death toll of children, to which he asked, "Are these children not dying? Do several children not die every single day in Pakistan?"

He questioned what the Sindh government was doing for basic health in the province, adding that the incumbent Sindh government made claims of "no work being done in Tharparkar during the previous government".

Sabzwari added that every bit of responsibility in regard to the province of Sindh falls on the shoulders of the Sindh chief minister.

MQM delegation meets Pir Pagara

MQM leader Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui while addressing the media after meeting Pakistan Muslim league-Functional (PML-F) chief Pir Pagara said that it seems the Sindh government is determined to create a Thar-like situation in the entire province.
“Sindh CM has said the situation in Thar is so critical that humans cannot do anything. I ask him, for God’s sake, to hand over the government to Allah,” he said.

Siddiqui argued that if the government could not find a solution for Thar crises, other political forces in the country should do so.

Pir Pagara also lamented the Sindh government of its bad governance, and criticised its performance in key areas, including health and law and order.