ISLAMABAD: Planning and Development Minister Ahsan Iqbal criticized the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf for playing politics at such a crucial time on Saturday, noting that the current wave of unprecedented monsoon rains was part of a global pattern of climatic shift that was causing heavy rains and floods in nations like the US, Bangladesh, and others.
Mr. Iqbal, who is also the chairman of the flood relief committee, made a request to all Pakistanis during a press conference from the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) headquarters: “Please discourage all those things which promote pessimism.”He added that the government and the country will not forsake those impacted by the flood in Balochistan, Sindh, and KP. “We are a brave nation and we have fought great natural disasters in the past too, including the massive 2005 earthquake and the gigantic floods,” he said.
Imran Khan and his party, who have loudly criticized the government, came under fire from him.”Today, Imran [Khan] claimed that significant damage happened as a result of our failure to provide effective infrastructure; this is untrue… It is reckless and shouldn’t take place, the minister added. He questioned Mr. Khan about whether the destruction brought on by the floods in the US, India, or Bangladesh was equally the government’s fault. Are we also part of the government there?
He claimed that KP had the worst infrastructural damage and that this was because over the previous eight years the PTI-led government had permitted the development of buildings, primarily hotels, along the banks and beds of rivers.The nation can only be led out of the current challenges by common efforts, he continued. “But we are not playing politics over this subject.
He mentioned a bridge in KP that was rebuilt by the National Highways Authority (NHA) with a five-meter height increase after being destroyed by the 2010 floods. He claimed that the water still rose to that level even then, demonstrating the size and severity of the present floods.
Additionally, he requested generous contributions to the prime minister’s relief fund as well as to the NDMA and Pakistan Army’s relief camps.
