Pakistan government grapples with drought in Sindh

Pakistan has begun setting up relief camps in the country's drought-hit Sindh province, where over 40 children have died reportedly of pneumonia and malnutrition.
Pakistan Army along with civil society groups have set up field hospitals and distributing food packets among the affected people in Mithi and Tharparkar, according to military's media wing.
General Officer Commanding Hyderabad Garrison Major General Inam is camping in the area to oversee the ongoing relief efforts.
Meanwhile, the PPP-led Sindh government today rejected an aid offer for the famine-hit people of Tharparkar made by Punjab, which is ruled by its arch rival PML-N.
More than 100 people have died because of famine and malnutrition in Mithi, one of the least developed and remote districts of Sindh, media reports had said.

"It is a very serious matter and we have deputed a senior member of the party and officials to probe into the deaths," Chief Minister of Sindh, Syed Qaim Ali Shah, had told reporters yesterday.

He had also ordered arrest of senior health officials for neglecting their duties, saying they had failed to move the children to hospitals in the bigger cities.
Shah had said the cause of the deaths would be confirmed by the investigation but apparently pneumonia and malnutrition were among the reasons.
The Chief Minister said government records showed 41 children died but there were fears that the actual number could be higher.

Jamaat-ud-Dawa, blamed by India for orchestrating the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, has also set up camps in the area.
The provincial government usually declares a state of drought in Thar by September or October when there is low rainfall during and after the monsoon season.
However, with moderate to low rainfall occurring until late September last year, the government pushed the announcement forward and the provision of relief was thus delayed, reports said.