With the floodwaters inundating most parts of Sindh, the heartland of the ruling Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), reports about Prime Minister (PM) Yusuf Raza Gilani’s visits to fake and makeshift relief camps are surfacing for the consecutive second year, not only giving a bad name to the PPP but also damaging the prime minister’s profile.
A media report suggested on Monday that the prime minister had visited a ‘bogus relief camp’ in Khatri, Mirpurkhas after evicting a genuine camp set up for flood affected people while at a makeshift arrangement, some ‘favorite farmers’ had been brought in by local politicians. Such reports had also surfaced in mid-August accusing the prime minister of visiting makeshift camps in Badin and other parts of Sindh. Such incidents were also reported in August 2010 which was declared as the worst flood-hit year in the country’s history.
The reports have brought in a spate of criticism on Gilani, calling for an immediate review of the standard operating procedures (SoPs) and effective planning for the PM’s security by his security apparatus that had been termed responsible for making the makeshift arrangements for the VVIPs.
Such incidents definitely give a bad name to the PPP-led coalition government which is already facing immense criticism for its failure in major fields. One can take a lesson from the recent visit by President Asif Ali Zardari who, in defiance of the security SoP, visited the flood-hit areas of Badin and went through the inundated roads and spoke to the victims himself.
Social scientist cum analyst Dr Rasool Bakhsh Raees, however, defended the arrangements made by the high-profile personalities like the prime minister saying that those responsible for the security of the chief executive of the country would like to ensure the provision of a safe and secure environment for him.
“I do not think they are faking. Rather, they would like to ensure proper security arrangements for the prime minister prior to his arrival at the relief camps. They would have to set up a place for the PM which is secure,” he said.
Asked how a fake camp could help the government build connections with the poor, Dr Raees said the media always went for the negative aspects of life, saying it did not focus on those being provided relief and even if only ten percent were deprived of relief goods, the media reflected those ten percent.
“You can not understand things in their proper perspective if you have not visited Sindh. It is very hard to distribute goods among affectees there. Without security you can not distribute relief goods. There are people who are not flood victims but are poor and look like affectees. Whenever they see an opportunity to take advantage of this, they pounce on it. Now if you are deputed for the security of a very important person (VIP), you will ensure that no unfortunate incident happens to the PM,” he asserted.
Dr Raees said in the given situation, the security apparatus and respective Members of National and Provincial Assemblies from the area were doing the right thing by avoiding taking any chances as terrorists could also get an opportunity to carry out acts of sabotage.
