Copyright pakobserver
THE Father of the Nation, Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, had said in his maiden speech that he envisioned his newborn country as one where all those entrusted with its administration would bind themselves to the characteristics of righteousness and consciousness and where all their activities would be properly monitored. He quoted a brief verse from the Holy Quran: “Allah has opened all the gateways to His Apostles to extend guidance and truth to their followers to make them assure that who will follow that would be most successful.” Unluckily, the nation of the Father brought a horrible shatter to his dream. Not a single one of his successors conceived any wisdom from the golden sayings of this man of principles; they disregarded all the fundamental commands required to run the administration of an Islamic State and failed to adopt any charter to define their duties or obligations toward the people of the state. Consequently, numerous evils befell the entire social and economic setup of the country. The political mafia has nourished a strange agenda of preaching and practicing the belief that politics is not reconciled with morality or human relationships. As we see in history, politicians believe that if politics does not accompany power or money, they are helpless to perform their obligations related to the betterment of the public. All the sympathetic actions toward the aggrieved people arise only during the election season. Their whirlwind tours to far-flung areas are made to participate in the functions and funerals of those belonging to their respective electoral jurisdictions. Let us have a glance over the devastated areas of the flood-struck cities. The titanic tidal waves of water roared over the land and swallowed up many living and non-living things on the ground. Diseases have erupted widely in the relief camps and there are no proper arrangements for treatment or medication. Small kids and old people are suffering unbelievably, lacking the specific and preventive diet needed by patients or children. The infant children cry all day for milk because there are no arrangements for milk delivery from outside the relief camps. All the cattle of every villager have been swept away in the floods. When some philanthropist enters the relief camps, the hungry inmates gather around him in a mood to attack because the food packets are insufficient; that is why the inmates of the relief camps attack each other to snatch the food. Very awful scenes of disgrace and humiliation of human beings are visible. The Holy Quran reads, “Surely We have given you abundance of good – Do not urge others to feed the poor.” The people were screaming and running for shelter and safety. It seemed that God had abandoned all living beings and made His presence known to them. God’s wrath was evident all around. Modern technologies and advancements in science have provided all the facilities of warning systems for such disasters and calamities in advance. The administrators are indulged in money-minting motives to expand their own business empires. All the funds are dished out to their kith and kin. The turmoil is still prevailing in the flood-affected areas. Sixty percent of families have lost their only livelihoods and eighty percent of the infrastructure has been swept away. Adopting a strange agenda of protectionism for the marooned people, the government has launched many agencies for the relief of flood affectees, but all the action plans to monitor the flood areas and their affectees are very poor. All the flood affectees are complaining that the help-giving camps have been converted into centers of corruption. The aid, both in kind and cash, is being distributed on the basis of bribes and kinship. The concerned operating staff misbehave with the women and attempt to exploit them. The work of rehabilitation is so slow that it seems the state-run agencies are waiting for the next episode of flooding in the country to fill up their own private exchequers. The details of the foreign funding comprise huge amounts, including contributions from the UNO’s World Food Programme. Many brotherly Islamic countries and major local economic lobbies have approved large relief packages, while the overseas Pakistani community has also donated generously. The World Bank has issued a detailed report on all funding for the flood affectees in Pakistan, indicating that the total amount is substantial. If these funds were properly distributed among the marooned people, they could have quickly returned to a normal life. However, the real challenge lies in ensuring transparency and accountability so that the assistance reaches the truly deserving and vulnerable people of Pakistan. —The writer is senior columnist based in Germany. (nighatlaghari@icloud.com)
