Former PM Raja Pervaiz Ashraf Calls for Unity Over Politics as PPP Distributes Aid to Chiniot Flood Victims
Politics Must Take Backseat": Ex-PM Ashraf demanded imposition of Agricultural Emergency After Devastating Floods
CHINIOT: Former Prime Minister and Pakistan Peoples Party Central Punjab President Raja Pervaiz Ashraf has stated that this is not the time for political point scoring. Everyone should unite at this moment to help the affected people, and making flood victims and farmers stand on their feet should be the first priority. The rehabilitation work of flood victims must be carried out above all kinds of politics, and agricultural policy will have to be reorganized afresh.
He expressed these views while speaking to the media and addressing a press conference in village Sahmal before distributing 500 ration bags and tents among affected families in villages Babu Rai, Harsa Bilah, Colony Jandwala, Ada Pathankot, village Sahmal and village Balarhka along with General Secretary PPP Central Punjab Syed Hassan Murtaza, Senior Vice President Rana Farooq Saeed, Information Secretary Shahzad Saeed Cheema, Divisional President Syed Inayat Ali Shah, and Rai Shah Jahan Bhatti.
Present on the occasion were Ahsan Rizvi, Arshad Jutt, Naeem Dastgir, Iftikhar Shahzada, Azmi Osho Nasir, Farzand Raja, Fayyaz Bhatti, Hassan Ashraf Bhatti, Rao Babar Jameel, Syed Ali Raza Zaidi, Kaleem Ali Amir, Azhar Khan, along with a large number of flood victims.
Raja Pervaiz Ashraf said that the agriculture-linked community has been most affected by the floods. River erosion has swallowed many acres of land, and the challenge must be faced by holding each other's hands. He said that the government's announcement to implement agricultural and climate emergency following Chairman Bilawal Bhutto's demand is welcome.
The former Prime Minister revealed that 25 square kilometers of land in village Sahmal have been swept away by floods. The Peoples Party will raise the voice of flood victims in assemblies and houses. Raja Pervaiz Ashraf demanded that affected areas be declared disaster-hit and all utility bills and taxes be waived until complete rehabilitation. Farmers should be given compensation for destroyed crops and free fertilizer and seeds, and devastated farmers should be helped to stand on their feet as soon as possible.
Raja Pervaiz Ashraf emphasized that international organizations must be called for aid, and the government and welfare organizations must work wholeheartedly. Corn, sugarcane and rice crops have been destroyed. The government should take immediate notice and declare emergency to stop river erosion. The message from Bilawal Bhutto and Asif Zardari is that whatever we can do for the victims, we will do. We want cash assistance to be provided to victims through Benazir Income Support Program data.
Peoples Party Central Punjab General Secretary Syed Hassan Murtaza said that the Peoples Party has brought aid for the victims. We always give constructive advice to allies, but those from other parties who are about to leave us should be careful. Without naming the provincial information minister, he said that those who change political affiliations give wrong advice to rulers. Maryam Nawaz should avoid such people and remain cautious.
Hassan Murtaza stated that the colony of village Sahmal has been wiped off the map. If river erosion is not stopped, it will destroy more settlements. He said that instead of relocating victims from here, the government should help them. Hassan Murtaza further said that this is why they are demanding assistance to victims through BISP data. The Peoples Party has never left the residents of village Sahmal alone. They are ready to provide land for the homeless to live. He alleged that even today political influence is being used in relief work.
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