Lahore, Pakistan, Sep 1, 2010 / 22:28 pm
A Catholic Church figure in Pakistan has charged that local authorities decided with “deliberate intention” not to provide adequate flood protection to regions with high numbers of minority religious groups, including Christians and Hindus.
The international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) claimed that “a key church figure” who “cannot be named” described a deliberate failure to reinforce key sections of the Indus River overlooking areas in the Sindh province which have a high density of tribal communities.
ACN’s source said that local Sindh government figures conspired with prominent land owners to reinforce the river bank on their property and other areas deemed important at the expense of other vulnerable regions.
He also alleged that gravel and other minerals were taken from poor areas to shore up the river bank in prioritized areas.