Lawmakers decry Pakistan's "elite-first" flood relief

Islamabad [Pakistan], October 28 (ANI): The Punjab Assembly witnessed rare consensus as both treasury and opposition benches blasted the provincial government over alleged bias and irregularities in distributing flood relief funds to victims across the province, as reported by The Express Tribune.

According to The Express Tribune, PML-N legislator Khalid Mahmood condemned what he termed the "unjust conduct" of local authorities, claiming that many impoverished families without land ownership documents had been excluded from the compensation programme.

He told the House that "landless citizens, who lost everything in the floods, are being systematically ignored," urging Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz to extend the financial assistance scheme to those without property. Mahmood called the current policy "discriminatory and contrary to the very purpose of welfare aid."

Responding to the criticism, Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Mian Mujtaba Shuja-ur-Rehman rejected the notion that only landowners were eligible for compensation.

He clarified that the chief minister had already instructed officials to include residents of riverine zones by offering both financial assistance and alternate land. "Those who lost homes will receive between PKR 500,000 and PKR 1 million, while others will be compensated for loss of land or livestock," Rehman said.

He assured lawmakers that he would personally review the implementation process and share updates with the assembly.

However, opposition MPA Rana Shahbaz accused local revenue officials of manipulating the survey lists to favour certain landlords while excluding victims associated with PTI and PPP. "This bias is deep-rooted and politically motivated," Shahbaz alleged, as cited by The Express Tribune.

Meanwhile, PML-N member Ahmed Iqbal criticised the government's failure to develop sustainable disaster management strategies, saying Punjab faced recurring environmental crises from floods and smog to heatwaves, yet no consistent policy response.

He also denounced the new 8:45 a.m. school timing, calling it poorly planned and disruptive, as reported by The Express Tribune. (ANI)

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