File photo of P.M. Shehbaz Sharif
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday warned of the risk posed by water-borne diseases in Pakistan’s flooded areas, as he directed authorities to expedite the dewatering process during a visit to Balochistan’s Sohbatpur district.
“Infectious diseases are spreading in flood-affected areas. Controlling the outbreak is crucial,” he said, stressing a potential disease outbreak should be avoided at all costs, as tackling it on top of the floods would cause great difficulties. He also ordered local authorities to ensure clean drinking water for the residents of Sohbatpur.
Later, in an address to flood victims, the premier announced a two-month—August and September—waiver of utility bills for residents of flood-hits areas across the country. He said this was aimed at providing relief to people who were already struggling due to the challenges triggered by the floods.
According to Sharif, the government was working on a mechanism to revive the crops of wheat and cotton that had been devastated by floods. He also assured Sohbatpur residents that two trucks carrying bottled water would reach the area by Wednesday night, adding 10 tons of the commodity would be available in the next two days.
Assuring the flood victims that the ruling coalition was working with the Balochistan government to ensure relief for them, he said serving the masses was a far nobler deed than “indulging in politicking as done by some leaders”; a veiled reference to PTI Chairman Imran Khan.
Now or never
Separately, while addressing a lawyers’ convention in Islamabad, the prime minister lamented that Pakistan’s economy was in such dire straits that even smaller countries had surpassed it as Islamabad continued to tour various countries with a begging bowl. “Where does Pakistan stand today after 75 years? This is a pinching question … We are moving in a circle all the time,” he said, stressing it was “now or never.”
Stressing the country had great potential, he said what it lacked was a will to achieve its goals. Regretting that even friendly countries considered Pakistan a perennial borrower, he stressed that the country’s economy had already been struggling when this year’s floods hit, further complicating the situation. The incumbent government, he said, had managed to avoid default and to “some extent” control economic instability, but admitted that inflation was at a peak.
Passing some of the blame onto the previous government led by Imran Khan, he said its violations on a deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had tied the ruling coalition’s hands, forcing them to agree to tough conditions. The IMF even threatened to withdraw the entire bailout program if the agreed conditions were not met, he claimed.
Sharif also warned of a potential gas crisis this winter, saying the government had been struggling to secure gas supplies but global prices were currently out of reach.