Barrister Dr. Saif counters Tarar’s disaster politicking with damning evidence of Punjab’s infrastructure collapse
ISLAMABAD: Advisor to the Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Information, Barrister Dr. Saif has strongly criticized Federal Minister Atta Tarar’s recent statements, accusing the PML-N of politicizing natural disasters out of animosity toward Imran Khan and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
Responding to Tarar’s comments on the Swat incident, Dr. Saif said that instead of using natural calamities for political point-scoring, the PML-N should reflect on its own shortcomings in Punjab and Islamabad. He noted that Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, in a show of goodwill, had offered assistance to Punjab to mitigate the impact of recent disasters — an offer that, according to Dr. Saif, was met with pettiness rather than cooperation by PML-N leaders.
“If the tragedy in Swat is being attributed to corruption, then what should one say about the devastation in Punjab?” Dr. Saif questioned, urging Atta Tarar to account for the loss of life, infrastructure damage, and drainage failures in the federal capital and Punjab during the recent heavy rains.
He added that just a few hours of rain exposed the fragile state of drainage systems in Lahore and Islamabad, contradicting the long-standing claims made by the Sharif family about urban development. “The vision of turning Lahore into Paris has been washed away—literally,” he remarked. “Entire neighborhoods resemble flood zones, with roads transformed into lakes.”
Dr. Saif emphasized that despite decades of rule by the Sharif family, even basic infrastructure cannot withstand seasonal rainfall, exposing the hollowness of their development narratives.