Sukkur, August 13: Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari on Thursday sought to fend off a public outcry over his response to Pakistan’s catastrophic floods by visiting a hard-hit area for the first time and handing out relief.
Zardari came under fire from victims, the political opposition and critics for last week failing to cut short a visit to Europe in order to deal personally with what is now the country’s worst humanitarian crisis.
The president visited Sukkur, where the government said on Thursday that waters were receding. He was briefed about the damage and relief and rehabilitation efforts in the densely populated southern province of Sindh.
Pakistan’s state television PTV broadcast silent footage of Zardari, who comes from Sindh, wearing a traditional cap and patting the head of an elderly woman at a relief camp, before visiting Sukkur barrage and viewing the water.
–Agencies