Its nothing less than a miracle when our politicians take steps, which require appreciation and I must congratulate all of you that after so long, such an occasion has arrived……finally.
Last two weeks have really tested the patience of nearly half of the Pakistan. From Charsadda till Larkana, masses have silently witnessed their long earned fortunes being blown away by the rivers along with more than a thousand precious lives. According to the PM yesterday, the toll of affected Pakistanis from the flood has soared upto 20 million, while there are still predictions regarding a new spell of rains.
From day 1 the government as well as its handling of the crisis has come under severe criticism. From a neutral perspective, I must admit that the magnitude of the disaster is so immense that its next to impossible when it comes to relief. Even Bush jr and his administration faced all the wrath in a similar situation, when Hurricane Katrina struck US coast. But in our case those in power, through their attitude made the situation more miserable than it should have been. It is rightly said that “ Action speaks louder than words†and that’s exactly what the masses perceived. From the casual walk with jeans in UK to the distribution of cheques in a fake medical camp, it was blunder after blunder.
Like seen before, it was our media (although blamed time and time again for being bias) which came to the rescue and projected the true picture out of those flood hit areas. Nearly every network was seen running marathon transmission while our top line anchors surpassed our politicians in reaching far off areas. They were also seen in the fore front when it came to inspiring people in order to help those who required immediate relief. The authority responsible for the crisis management, NDMA is simply unequipped to handle a crisis like this.
Anyhow with floods destroying every thing in its path, the response of the masses was simply unexplainable. As seen in 2005 earth quake, the enthusiasm and the spirit of sacrifice was no where to be seen. It doesn’t mean that the masses were not ready to help, but somehow they were kept back by some factors. On the other hand outside support was promised immediately, but it always takes time.
Having seen the track record especially in term of transparency, it is crystal clear that the masses are not ready to trust them. On the other hand it seemed as if the centre and Punjab government were competing each other in accumulating money, and very rightly Punjab administration because of its commitment was surpassing the center with every passing day.
14th August this time around was without colours because of this disaster but the meeting between the PM & Mr Nawaz was the high point of the day undoubtedly. Instead of leg pulling which has become more of a tradition, they have shown extra ordinary maturity regarding the tackling of current crisis. The announcement regarding the establishment of an independent commission to head the relief activities in really what is required in a situation like this. Both the leaders have rose to the occasion and if it gets executed in the right manner, I am sure that the trust deficit between the masses and those in the power corridors can easily be removed. People like Rana Bhagwan Das are someone whom every one trusts, same is the case with Mr Edhi.
With the situation getting so grave, it is always required that some extra ordinary initiatives should be taken, and this is somehow very close to this.
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