One person conspiring to come into power during flood tragedy: Bilawal

KARACHI: Chairman of Pakistan Peoples Party and Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has said that flood emergency and politics could not exist side by side in the country like two Pakistans couldn’t exist at the same time. Without naming Imran Khan, Bilawal said there is a person who is conspiring to come into power at this time of great national tragedy instead of prioritising humanity over politics.

“It is obligatory upon all of us to leave aside politics now to help out the flood victims,” said Bilawal while speaking at a press conference here at the Chief Minister’s House on Thursday. He was accompanied by Sindh Chief Minister, Syed Murad Ali Shah, PPP Sindh President Nisar Ahmed Khuhro, Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon, and other provincial ministers.

Bilawal said the Pakistanis need to stand united as a single nation to tackle the flood emergency affecting the major portion of the country. He said it was not possible that a part of Pakistan was submerged in floodwaters while the other part of the country kept on doing politics and contesting polls.

The PPP chairperson said that the flood is not over yet as a large part of the country’s population is suffering from the natural calamity, adding that the flood waters from the hilly areas of Balochistan are still flowing towards Sindh. He told the media persons that out of the inundated areas, 50 per cent of the rainwater has been drained, while the remaining areas are still under water. “If you visit Khairpur Nathan Shah and other areas (in Sindh), you can see ocean-like scenes on both sides of the roads,” he added.

Bilawal expressed his satisfaction with the assistance received from the world community and said that despite the substantial assistance, it is insufficient because the number of victims is huge. He said that floods had affected the economy more than the Covid-19 pandemic, adding that agricultural crops standing on four million acres of land have been submerged, due to which the country’s flood security had been threatened.

“The entire province of Sindh except Karachi is submerged, whereas the infrastructure in Karachi has also been severely damaged,” he pointed out. “We have finally a prime minister who owns the entire Pakistan, who is visiting every rain-hit area of the country,” he said. But at the same time, there is another person who is conspiring to come into power. “In the current situation, we should give priority to humanity, not politics,” he remarked.

Bilawal expressed the hope that by the end of November, it would be possible for growers to sow new crops and pledged government support to small farmers and steps to make the economy strong, which is currently destroyed by the floods. He lambasted Imran Khan, saying that the former prime minister had harmed the country in every arena, including foreign policy, and relations with friendly countries have been affected during his rule.

In response to a question, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that Sindh’s money is stuck in the Supreme Court as the province needs its money to spend on its people suffering from the worst-ever natural disaster. To another question, the Foreign Minister said we will try to resolve economic issues with FATF and the European Union before the end of the tenure of the current government.