Elahi accuses PMLN of neglecting Gujrat flood victims

LALAMUSA: President of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and former Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Parvez Elahi on Tuesday accused Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) leaders of failing the people of Gujrat during the recent floods, claiming PTI was the first to provide relief to affected families.

Speaking to the media in Gujrat, Elahi said PTI’s relief efforts began immediately after the disaster, while political rivals only acted once they saw the public response. “The PMLN leadership should be ashamed. They did not spend a single rupee from their own pockets. The money they distributed was collected through unjust taxes on the poor,” he remarked.

Elahi asserted that PTI had extended assistance from its personal resources, describing it as a moral duty to support flood-hit communities. He accused provincial and federal governments of negligence, arguing that the devastation was not merely due to heavy rains but the result of “the incompetence of rulers who have been in power for the past three years.”

Highlighting the damage to Punjab’s crops and livelihoods, the PTI leader said the public was “fed up” with the ruling faces. He also recalled development projects launched in Gujrat during his tenure, claiming that schemes worth Rs140 million executed by Moonis Elahi had been abandoned by the current government. “If they had not discontinued the projects we launched, Gujrat would not be facing this situation,” he said, accusing the PMLN of halting ongoing schemes whenever in power, thereby damaging Punjab and pushing Pakistan towards decline.

Elahi concluded by expressing hope for PTI’s return under Imran Khan, saying only then could unfinished development work be resumed.