Daily Times

From reeling under severe drought just weeks ago to thousands being washed away by the unprecedented flood waves, the miseries plaguing Balochistan are far from over.

And now that news of August bringing in one more intense round of rains and floods is being feared, the poverty-stricken province has nowhere to look for relief. For, the prime minister’s aerial visits and appeal for funds have not yet brought forward a helping hand. It took nearly a month for the authorities to dispatch the first consignment of medicines for flood affectees.

There were over 136 casualties reported a few days ago and the death rate is constantly creeping higher. Over four thousand houses have been swept away by the merciless tides and the little vestiges of modern infrastructure present have already collapsed.

The suspension of communication is pouring gasoline on the fire as the seething cauldron is ready to spill over. Anger and disappointment have fast spread all over the province and protest movements are ready to knock down the power headquarters. To our misfortune, this apparent apathy has always been the norm in Balochistan whose grief and difficulties have seldom been tended to. Despite jumping a little late in the field, media outlets have not backed down from their coverage of the affected regions and the hapless citizenry there. But when every hand of assistance at the local level backs down in resignation and the government officers are nowhere to be found, where are the flood victims supposed to take solace? Losing a lifetime of earnings, precious farmlands, animals and loved ones is already a very excruciating turn of affairs.

However, this pain becomes unbearable when those supposed to stand as your guardians prefer photo sessions to relief activities that actually matter. Balochistan needs Pakistan’s attention would be a gross understatement. That Pakistan needs to win back the confidence of its largest and very critical province should be hammered into every wall of the authorities’ front yard. *