PM directs NDMA to provide immediate aid in Tharparkar

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has taken notice of the food shortage in Tharparkar and directed the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) to provide immediate assistance. According to an official notification, the prime minister has directed the NDMA to immediately contact authorities in Sindh and ensure all necessary measures are taken. Reports states 121 children have died of pneumonia and malnutrition in the Thar desert. The Sindh government has ordered a probe and the arrest of senior health officials for neglecting their duties. Meanwhile, Pakistan’s former top judge Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry has written a letter to Chief Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani to take suo moto notice in order to enforce fundamental rights of the people of Thar. The Thar desert begins around 300 kilometres (200 miles) from Karachi and runs up to the border with India, where it joins the Rajasthan desert. Poor health and communication infrastructure keeps the district disconnected from mainstream population. In 2000, the desert suffered a famine that killed 90 percent of the livestock, the economic mainstay of the area.