Imran dismisses claims govt hiding true virus death toll

Ag Agencies

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan has categorically rejected claims that the federal government is hiding the true coronavirus death toll and dismissed as “irresponsible” media reports about the rise of Covid-19 deaths in Karachi.

“A government that hides coronavirus death tolls will be truly foolish,” Khan said at his weekly televised briefing to the nation over the Covid 19 pandemic on Saturday. “It is in the government’s interest that it gets full information. If we hide facts from people, will the cases disappear?” he asked.

His address comes as the country’s coronavirus cases exceeded 7,700 cases, with seven more deaths, taking the total death toll to 144.

Khan said based on the current projections, the virus cases could range between 10,000 and 15,000 by April 25. However, he cautioned that the period for an expected increase in cases was revised to the month of May and a surge could be witnessed during a period between May 15 and May 25. He also asked the nation to not let up on the coronavirus precautions.

About the reported rise in virus deaths in Karachi, the Prime Minister referred to them as “irresponsible” and urged the media to not spread panic. “It is an irresponsible act by saying people are dying without verifying it,” he added.

In a veiled reference to opposition parties, he stressed against the “politicisation” of the coronavirus pandemic. Members of the ruling party like Faisal Vawda, Ali Zaidi, Firdous Naqvi and most recently, Shahbaz Gill, and the members of the Pakistan Peoples Party government in Sindh have been trading barbs over their respective response to the coronavirus.

The Sindh government has been advocating a stricter lockdown to prevent the spread of the highly infectious disease, while the Prime Minister has been wary of the strict nationwide measures, saying the incomes of daily wagers are drying up due to lockdowns.

Khan said: “I would like to request everyone to stop playing politics on this issue. This has been going on for the past two to three weeks. There is a group that wants more harm to happen in the country so that they can benefit politically from this.”

The Prime Minister said that his government’s aim is to think of the impoverished when taking important decisions. “We must not think only of the people residing in Defence or E-sector alone,” he said. “We should think about the people residing in shanty towns as well,” he added.

When he spoke, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on National Security Moeed Yusuf said the government was doing its utmost to bring back Pakistanis stranded abroad. “This week, we will be able to bring back 6,000 Pakistanis from abroad and in the coming week, an estimated 7,000 people,” he added.

Yusuf said in the coming weeks, commercial airlines will be allowed to fly stranded Pakistanis from abroad.

He also said among the 2,000 Pakistanis brought home from abroad, only 40 had tested positive for the coronavirus. Yusuf said that they had been quarantined and treated properly. He said that Pakistanis who will be brought from Afghanistan will be dealt with a uniform quarantine policy. He said that people from abroad will be kept in isolation for two days after which they will be tested for the virus and then other measures will be taken.