Sirajul Haq calls upon govt to dispatch aid to flood victims forthwith lest situation becomes out of control   

LAHORE, August 27 (SABAH): Emir Jamaat-e-Islami Sirajul Haq has said the government must ensure timely dispatch of aid to save itself from the growing level of anger among the people of flood affected areas.

“Do not test the patience of the helpless,” he warned the rulers in a statement issued from Mansoorah on Saturday, saying he saw the thousands of helpless people waiting for the government relief during the recent visit to Sindh, Balochistan and southern Punjab.

It was the duty of the federal and provincial governments to help the masses, he said, regretting the administration was not present on ground and only the volunteers and charity organizations were engaged in relief activities. He said the government failed to make arrangement of timely evacuation of people despite warnings from the metrological departments.

Sirajul Haq said the landlords and waderas captured the passages of water including them into their own lands. They, he added, forced the local administration to divert the flow of water towards residential areas by not allowing breach into dykes which were built to protect the lands of landlords with government funds. He also questioned the non-implementation of the Flood Commission Inquiry Report 2010.

He said had the report been implemented, the destruction level could have been much less than the present one. He said the national and provincial departments of disaster management also failed to fulfill their responsibilities in efficient manners.

The Jamaat-e-Islami emir appealed to the people for donations, saying it was responsibility of the Pakistani nation to help their fellow citizens at the testing time. He said the thousands of the workers of the Jamaat-e-Islami and al-Khaidmat Foundation were engaged in relief activities. He said the Jamaat-e-Islami would utilize maximum resources to help the people in difficulties.