Opposition in NA criticises govt response against virus

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari excoriated the Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) government on Monday for politicking over coronavirus pandemic, but he again offered to work together for the betterment of the masses, Geo News reported.

Addressing the National Assembly session on coronavirus — the first session after suspensions owing to the pandemic — Bilawal noted at the start of his speech that Prime Minister Imran Khan was not present during the session despite most leaders of the Opposition were in attendance. “Each crisis gives a chance to the leadership through which their realities are revealed,” Bilawal said. “I’m saddened to say that our Prime Minister — who is also the country’s health minister — is not present in the NA session. He doesn’t think it’s part of his job to brief this house and the country’s people on the coronavirus [situation].

“This isn’t a battle of political statements, this is a part of the prime minister’s job as the leader of the house,” he added.

The current government expected the labourers and underprivileged groups “to put their lives in danger to earn their livelihood and work in the industries — and the constructions sector — to run our economy”. “As a leader, one should do what one expects from others,” the PPP leader stated, adding it would have been better if the Premier had attended the NA session for he not only represented Pakistan but also the health ministry, “whose Special Assistant [Dr Zafar Mirza] is present here but cannot speak”.

Bilawal said the participants were expecting a debate on national unity and the steps to spread awareness about the coronavirus pandemic. “Unfortunately, the foreign minister — who was assigned the task — chose to target Sindh and the 18th Amendment.”

He explained when the virus reached Pakistan, he had offered to Prime Minister Khan and his government to set aside political differences and work together to tackle the pandemic. “In response, my party, my chief minister [Murad Ali Shah], and my ministers received flak and verbal abuse from the highest level of government of Pakistan, which engaged in mudslinging at their efforts and hard work and in the character assassination of the people of my province.

“So much so that a leader of the ruling party went as far as to say that he contracted the coronavirus due to the illiteracy of the people of Sindh,” Bilawal shot back.

In his speech, a senior leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Khawaja Asif, also criticised the PTI-led government, saying it had exhibited “recklessness”. “What we face right now is the result of recklessness shown by the government during the lockdown in the past few months. Pakistan has still to face the peak in the coming months,” Asif added.

The former foreign minister said quarantine centres were the major source for the spread of coronavirus. He also criticised the gap between what the ruling party had promised as compared to the current situation. “Previously, we were told that the daily capacity to conduct coronavirus tests would expand to 50,000 tests per day. However, today, Foreign Minister Quershi is saying we have a testing capacity of 20,000 tests on daily basis for a population of over 212.2 million,” he added.

Earlier in his address in the National Assembly, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said Pakistan had the highest coronavirus testing capacity to date among all South Asian countries at 20,000 tests a day.

Noting that the Covid-19 pandemic was an “unprecedented challenge” that had become one of the biggest catalysts after the World War II, Qureshi said health experts around the world were trying their level best to come up with strategies to curb the virus till a vaccine could be made. “Irrespective of Pakistan’s response towards the virus, no country around the world was seen fully prepared to battle out the virus,” the minister said. “The world is learning with time.”

Presenting the global figures from the US, the UK and other European countries, including Italy, he said Pakistan — being a developing country — showed a constructive response, with growing testing capacity, which now stood at 20,000 tests a day. “Since the virus emerged, Pakistan had eight operational labs but now we have about 70 functional labs for the coronavirus. With improved testing capacity, we will get a clearer picture of the pandemic in the country,” he added.

Referring to data, he said the mortality rate from coronavirus in Pakistan was 2.17 per cent as opposed to 6.8 per cent around the world, based on which “we made major decisions for the coming days while utilising the collective wisdom of all political leaders”.

Speaking of Pakistan’s healthcare system, he said it was “dissolved in 2010” and that the PML-N and the PPP were previously responsible for the sector.

The minister told the NA the political parties had earlier mutually decided to make decisions regarding the coronavirus lockdown in the National Coordination Committee’s (NCC) sessions. “We formed two forums — the NCC, headed by Prime Minister Imran Khan, and the NCOC [National Command and Operation Centre], led by Planning Minister Asad Umar — to make decisions mutually while making use of collaborative efforts from all political leaders,” he said.

He added both the bodies met daily to monitor the coronavirus situation and response across Pakistan and to obtain updates from the provinces. “Our aim is to build a national consensus while strategising the best for all provinces while providing flexibility” to them, he added. “Covid-19 is a national emergency and not a regional health hazard; therefore, we cannot make decisions while targeting regions.”

Qureshi highlighted Punjab’s biggest quarantine centre was set up in Multan but did not have a single patient now. As for the Ehsaas Kifalat programme, he said it was “not restricted to any province” and that to date, some 2.3 million families had received aid in Sindh alone.

President Dr Arif Alvi last week had summoned the National Assembly session to debate Pakistan’s current coronavirus situation.—News Desk

do what one expects from others,” the PPP leader stated, adding it would have been better if the Premier had attended the NA session for he not only represented Pakistan but also the health ministry, “whose Special Assistant [Dr Zafar Mirza] is present here but cannot speak”.

Bilawal said the participants were expecting a debate on national unity and the steps to spread awareness about the coronavirus pandemic. “Unfortunately, the foreign minister — who was assigned the task — chose to target Sindh and the 18th Amendment.”

He explained when the virus reached Pakistan, he had offered to Prime Minister Khan and his government to set aside political differences and work together to tackle the pandemic. “In response, my party, my chief minister [Murad Ali Shah], and my ministers received flak and verbal abuse from the highest level of government of Pakistan, which engaged in mudslinging at their efforts and hard work and in the character assassination of the people of my province.

“So much so that a leader of the ruling party went as far as to say that he contracted the coronavirus due to the illiteracy of the people of Sindh,” Bilawal shot back.

In his speech, a senior leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Khawaja Asif, also criticised the PTI-led government, saying it had exhibited “recklessness”. “What we face right now is the result of recklessness shown by the government during the lockdown in the past few months. Pakistan has still to face the peak in the coming months,” Asif added.

The former foreign minister said quarantine centres were the major source for the spread of coronavirus. He also criticised the gap between what the ruling party had promised as compared to the current situation. “Previously, we were told that the daily capacity to conduct coronavirus tests would expand to 50,000 tests per day. However, today, Foreign Minister Quershi is saying we have a testing capacity of 20,000 tests on daily basis for a population of over 212.2 million,” he added.

Earlier in his address in the National Assembly, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said Pakistan had the highest coronavirus testing capacity to date among all South Asian countries at 20,000 tests a day.

Noting that the Covid-19 pandemic was an “unprecedented challenge” that had become one of the biggest catalysts after the World War II, Qureshi said health experts around the world were trying their level best to come up with strategies to curb the virus till a vaccine could be made. “Irrespective of Pakistan’s response towards the virus, no country around the world was seen fully prepared to battle out the virus,” the minister said. “The world is learning with time.”

Presenting the global figures from the US, the UK and other European countries, including Italy, he said Pakistan — being a developing country — showed a constructive response, with growing testing capacity, which now stood at 20,000 tests a day. “Since the virus emerged, Pakistan had eight operational labs but now we have about 70 functional labs for the coronavirus. With improved testing capacity, we will get a clearer picture of the pandemic in the country,” he added.

Referring to data, he said the mortality rate from coronavirus in Pakistan was 2.17 per cent as opposed to 6.8 per cent around the world, based on which “we made major decisions for the coming days while utilising the collective wisdom of all political leaders”.

Speaking of Pakistan’s healthcare system, he said it was “dissolved in 2010” and that the PML-N and the PPP were previously responsible for the sector.

The minister told the NA the political parties had earlier mutually decided to make decisions regarding the coronavirus lockdown in the National Coordination Committee’s (NCC) sessions. “We formed two forums — the NCC, headed by Prime Minister Imran Khan, and the NCOC [National Command and Operation Centre], led by Planning Minister Asad Umar — to make decisions mutually while making use of collaborative efforts from all political leaders,” he said.

He added both the bodies met daily to monitor the coronavirus situation and response across Pakistan and to obtain updates from the provinces. “Our aim is to build a national consensus while strategising the best for all provinces while providing flexibility” to them, he added. “Covid-19 is a national emergency and not a regional health hazard; therefore, we cannot make decisions while targeting regions.”

Qureshi highlighted Punjab’s biggest quarantine centre was set up in Multan but did not have a single patient now.

As for the Ehsaas Kifalat programme, he said it was “not restricted to any province” and that to date, some 2.3 million families had received aid in Sindh alone.

President Dr Arif Alvi last week had summoned the National Assembly session to debate Pakistan’s current coronavirus situation.