July 31, 2022

The Pakistani government's neglect of flood victims

topic:	Good Governance
located:	Pakistan
editor:	Shadi Khan Saif

In the days and weeks ahead, millions of people within the most marginalised and poor populations of Pakistan may see their livelihood perish from the flash floods sweeping through towns and villages as the incompetent government idly looks on.

The corrupt leadership may keep telling the masses that the floods are inevitable natural phenomena and so is the destruction they create (only for the poor) so they need not worry or complain. Instead, the public's time, energy and resources will continue to be exploited for the shady political drama going on as the nation reels from crippling economic circumstances. 

Over 300 deaths have already been confirmed by the local authorities in flood-related incidents in the past few days. Many more lives are devastated by the related incidents, which could have clearly been avoided, or the damages could at least have been minimised, had the government been responsible and accountable. Despite the annual recurrence of flash floods during the monsoon season, the Pakistani authorities act surprised every year instead of providing precautionary assistance or relief.

The worst affected remains the country's biggest, yet poorest province, Balochistan, where the local communities spend their entire days looking for drinking water during many months of the year. Properly placed priorities for development, planning and fair distribution of funds would have ensured the development of reservoirs in Balochistan to capture the rainwater for use in later parts of the year and could have also saved lives claimed by the floods. Similarly, fair governance and true service to the public would have created similar projects across the country, which is now presented with the image of a drowned village of the distant past. 

We may well witness a repeat of the deadly 2010 floods that swept away entire villages along the river banks in different parts of Pakistan. The point I want to make here is that the government and leadership of the country should not be spared from their responsibilities for their failure in this major loss of life and property mainly because of their incompetence. They have no right to visit the flood-affected families later and hand over charity support coming from international humanitarian institutions. 

Taking advantage of the scientific knowledge and previous experiences, the government and leadership in Pakistan should have served their constituencies and the entire country before the calamity hit. It is very gloomy to see mud throwing dominating the political arena instead of the service to the public and accountability.

Photo by Sadiq Nafee

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