While Pakistan is fighting against all sorts of terrorists, being hit by more tragic and more severe incidents every time this bereaved nation raises its head, natural incidents, as a result of the negligence of the state, are not giving this unfortunate country any relief. Among the many series of events, the most recent and unending incident is that of the famine and drought in Tharparkar that, on a daily basis, is claiming the lives of children and elders alike. The irony about this event is that no advocates of human rights and no rights organisation have taken any stance to support the helpless people of Tharparkar, except maybe a few journalists who have been trying to conduct surveys in this regard. More importantly, the provincial government has turned a deaf ear to the incident.
Unfortunately, we are a nation whose citizens, residing in urban areas, are too ‘advanced’ to be bothered by the natural calamities that affect poor people who live in remote villages like Tharparkar. The people of Thar are illiterate and poor, and are dying of thirst and hunger because they have no health related services at their disposal. Everyone has their cross to bear though; in the cities we fear for our children and do not send them to school while their children are fighting for their lives against malnutrition. One the one hand, we are being forced to make our schools fortresses against militants and, on the other hand, hospitals in places like Thar have the least number of incubators for children to survive the onslaughts nature. No one owns up to these dead bodies.
Constitutionally, it is the responsibility of the state to ensure a good life of the citizens, along with the provision of basic necessities, both in the fundamental rights (specifically Article Nine of the Constitution of Pakistan, 1973) as well as in the principles of policy (particularly Article 38 of the Constitution). The Constitution specifically prohibits the deprivation of life of any person, subject to any law. The same provision has been construed by the superior courts in a broader sense and has been interpreted in a way that the right to life, as provided by the Constitution, includes the right to lead a good life. Similarly, Article 38 (d) specifically mandates the state to provide the basic necessities of life irrespective of any discrimination on any grounds whatsoever, although not enforceable through a court of law.
Regardless of the constitutional and legal position, it is an admitted fact that we, as a nation, have gone through such tragic and heartbreaking events that the victims of natural deaths do not matter to us anymore and, as a result, we are no longer concerned about deaths that come as a result of natural events and calamities. Indeed, our fight with terrorism, as a nation, should be our top priority but as a state we have forgotten our responsibility towards every other individual who is dying not by a bullet but by famine and draught.
As per the reports floating in the media, around 95 people have died this year as a result of the fatal famine. It has been reported by the media that the resources being sent to the affected are not reaching the population and that the government of the province of Sindh has miserably failed to fulfill its responsibility.
It is pertinent to point out that the only hospital actively working to combat this dire situation is Mithi Hospital, which is serving around one million inhabitants of the Thar area. As has been reported in the news and the surveys conducted by different organisations, it seems that neither the scarce resources nor poor medical facilities are killing individuals; instead it is bad family planning and lack of education, which are the key problem areas resulting in these deaths.
The irony, in this regard, is that the politicians as well as the bureaucrats are blaming the very people for the deaths of their minor children instead of taking up the responsibility to provide the basic necessities of life and its welfare. It has further been reported that the representatives sitting in provincial houses are blaming the media for wrongly reported the deaths. This reasoning of these elitists is against the norms of being a public servant employed for the benefit and welfare of the people.
The quantum does not matter; even a single life is precious. Whether one person is dying or 100, it is the state, and its organs that are completely responsible for providing necessary facilities, including medical services that definitely include proper education regarding healthcare. More importantly, the issue here is not what is the cause of these deaths, the question is what they, as the elected representatives of the people, both in the province as well as in the federation, are doing for their people to stop this stream of deaths. Where is that mother like state who ought to love each one of its citizens?
What we need to realise is the following: merely taking notices is not the solution; blaming the individuals who are already victims is neither going to solve the problem nor raising allegations only against the provincial government will do good in this regard. The people dying in Thar are Pakistanis first and then they are Sindhis under the unfortunate governance of the government of Sindh. Turning a deaf ear, the federal government and the provincial government are not owning up to their responsibility, which will further exacerbate this devastating situation.
The writer is a Lawyer based in Lahore. He has a degree in law from Lahore University of Management Sciences. He can be reached at [email protected] or Twitter @haseebajaved