Much touted relief not forthcoming: Political leadership abandons Nawabshah poor

NAWABSHAH: Extreme poverty and starvation has gripped the poor Haris and labourers, including daily wagers due to lockdown throughout the district while elected representatives who are supposed to be actively running the relief effort for them are nowhere to be seen and have confined themselves to their palatial residences.

The people cannot earn their livelihood under the lockdown are facing unbearable misery and loss of self respect by those whom they have voted into power belonging to both the opposition and the government.

Nawabshah was renamed Shaheed Benazirabad and is an active political center of Sindh. PPP's co-chairman and former president Asif Ali Zardari was elected as MNA from the district's NA-213 constituency in the 2018 election, alongwith his sister and Sindh's Health Minister Dr Azra Fazal Pechohu besides MNA Ghulam Mustafa Shah, MPAs Ghulam Qadir Chandio, Sardar Khan Muhammad Dahri, Choudhry Tariq Masood Arain and Chairman Public Accounts Committee. PPP's senior leadership including Faryal Talpur was also elected from this district twice, besides the party largely controls the district council, municipal and town committees.

But despite being devoted voters of the PPP, the poor haris, labourers and daily wagers are suffering undue hardship and misery under the lockdown and the political leadership which is running the affairs of the province for the 11th year in a row are nowhere to be seen.

The political leadership's entire effort revolves around making hollow promises of in contact with the top government leadership to ensure the relief in cash and kind are disbursed, which has not happened despite passage of a fortnight. Same goes with the provincial opposition leadership including Tehrik-e- Insaf, GDA and MQM, who have similarly abandoned the people. Feeling dejected people have now stopped visiting the elected leaders. Their only hope lies in the philanthropists who silently manage to provide basic commodities and certain amount of cash to the deserving.