Forgetting Thar

This refers to the news report, ‘Judicial commission to probe children’s deaths in Thar’ (February 8). This is the third year in a row that we have been hearing news of deaths in the poverty-stricken Thar region. The PPP is seen to be acting – or rather reacting – to the famine in Thar in a way that reminds us of a faceless ruling junta that is totally aloof to the suffering of the people. In fact, the Sindh CM seems to have been annoyed by the extensive media coverage accorded to the extremely painful goings-on in Thar which, according to him and his ministers, is a normal phenomenon.

For inexplicable reasons, the federal government is also not seen in action. Apart from the humanitarian perspective, helping the people of Thar is a constitutional requirement of the provincial as well as the federal governments. One wonders where the national spirit exhibited during the 2005earthquake has gone. Philanthropists are requested to do whatever they can on their own for the people of Thar.

Shahid Ehsan Khalid

Lahore