Report on compliance measures sought in two weeks

The Sindh High Court on Thursday directed the health secretary and other provincial authorities to submit within two weeks a report elaborating the measures taken in light of the Thar commission’s report. 

A division bench headed by Chief Justice Ahmed Ali M Shaikh was hearing a petition against the Sindh government for failing to provide relief to the people living in the drought-prone area. 

During the hearing, the chief justice asked Sindh Health Secretary Dr Fazalullah Pechuho and other officials to explain what steps were being taken to implement the recommendations made by the Thar commission. 

The health secretary replied that they were working in earnest to effectively implement the commission’s recommendations, but sought more time to compile and submit a detailed report. 

The high court bench, in response, set a two-week deadline for the respondents to file their report. 

In March 2016, the Sindh government had set up a four-member inquiry commission to look into the deaths caused by, and the provincial government’s response to, the Tharparkar drought crises. 

According to a notification, former provincial advocate general Abdul Fatah Malik was suggested as convener of the commission with Drs Tipu Sultan and Sono Khangharani and director general Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) as members of the inquiry commission.

In its report, the commission had blamed the provincial departments of health, education, irrigation, livestock,
population welfare, agriculture, rehabilitation, revenue, tourism, forests and wildlife for the worsening situation in Thar. 

The report mentioned that frequent transfers and
postings of government officers were to blame for the
administrative disarray in the drought-affected area,
while the unchecked practice of early marriages was
primarily to blame for children’s death in the arid region.