Mocking repeated claims of Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani that the incumbent government does not believe in political victimisation and witch-hunting, the Pakistan People’s Party jiyalas in Sindh halted World Food Programme officials from distributing food products in the constituency of former Sindh chief minister Arbab Ghulam Rahim.
The incident took place Mithi town of district Tharparkar in Rahim’s constituency when some supporters of a local PPP leader stopped WFP workers from distribution food in some flood-affected villages, as a majority of the people in those villages were supporters of the former Sindh chief minister, a source in the Sindh government told Pakistan Today on Saturday.
Rahim is a strong political opponent of the PPP and is currently living in self-exile after having been thrashed during 2008 election by PPP supporters. He is a member of the present provincial assembly but has not returned from the United Arab Emirates fearing victimisation.
“The workers of the World Food Programme were stopped from distributing assistance last week by a local and influential person belonging to the PPP because the area comes under the political influence of Arbab Ghulam Rahim,” the source said on condition of anonymity. Asked about the place of incident, he said it occurred in a villages near Mithi.
“The villages fall under the provincial Assembly constituency of Arbab Ghulam Rahim,” the source said. He added that political interference was seriously affecting food distribution and other flood relief operations in Sindh. He said the WFP workers later held a meeting with the district coordinating officer (DCO) and resumed food operation in the area after his assurance of security.
The source said such instances had taken place in several areas and some local politicians, especially those from the PPP, tried to influence aid distribution system. When asked what action the DCO had taken against the politician, the source said the DCO could not do anything against the powerful and influential local politicians, as they belonged to the ruling party.
