KARACHI: While media reports about unabated deaths of infants due to malnutrition and a lack of proper healthcare facilities in Tharparkar continued to cause an alarm across the country over the past few years, chairman of the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari took up the issue with Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Friday and directed him to do the needful in this regard.

He met Mr Shah at Bilawal House to discuss ways and means to contain an acute shortage of water and and address certain other related issues that had created a crisis-like situation in recent weeks. Better governance in the province, mainly in the Thar region, also came under discussion.

“Chairman of Pakistan Peoples Party Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has asked the Sindh government to stay alert to situation popping up in Thar and other areas of the province due to meagre monsoon rains,” said a statement issued after the meeting.

The situation “can be controlled and improved through better strategy and governance in the areas targeted by drought spell”, it said.

The PPP chairman took up the issue after concerned was shown by several key leaders of rival political parties over the situation. Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, a couple of days back questioned performance of PPP, which is ruling over the province for a third consecutive term.

“I am deeply concerned by the state of affairs in Tharparkar. Our people are dying of draught and lack of clean drinking water while innocent kids are dying of inadequate health facilities,” FM Qureshi had tweeted. “I urge the PPP-led Sindh Government to urgently provide necessary facilities as per their pre-election promises.”

Earlier this week, Pak Sarzameen Party (PSP) chief Syed Mustafa Kamal had urged Prime Minister Imran Khan to personally look into the growing number of deaths of infants and expecting mothers in the desert region.

Apart from the Thar issue, the PPP chairman also discussed overall performance of the Sindh government so far.

Published in Dawn, September 15th, 2018