Malik wants meaningful Parliament session on COVID-19 today

ISLAMABAD: Senate Standing Committee on Interior Chairman Senator Abdul Rehman Malik on Monday has written letters to leader of the opposition in Senate and Advisor to Prime Minister on Parliamentary Affairs Dr Babar Awan to adopt his resolutions for the well-being of the country and said that the Parliament session on COVID-19 should be meaningful and result oriented rather customary.

Rehman Malik has expressed, “Our country unfortunately will have drastic increase in the cases of coronavirus because of no social distancing and government confusion about lockdown. He said that the steps are non-serious and the advice of World Health Organisation (WHO) is not being followed in markets and streets and other public places. He has advised the prime minister to deal the coronavirus as per WHO’s SOPs. He said that he wishes the government should have followed his 37 points Anti-Coronavirus National Action Plan proposed earlier on February 27th when only two cases were confirmed across the country.

He said that his 37 Points Anti-Coronavirus National Action Plan contained full SOP and was approved by the Senate Standing Committee on Interior and had handed over to the Secretary Health, all provincial governments and all concerned departments. “The situation would far different and better if those 37 points were followed in true letter and spirit,” he said.

He said that neither he is criticising nor doing any blame game but being the Chairman Senate Standing Committee on Interior, he feels that it will be his failure in national duty if he does not point out the mistakes. “Our survival is in complete lockdown and there is nothing called smart lockdown in the law,” he said.

Rehman Malik reinforced his proposal to discuss in the Senate session to invoke the force majeure law to get relief on external debt.

In this regard on Monday in separate letters, he wrote to opposition leader in Senate Raja Zafarul Haq and Advisor for Parliamentary Affairs Dr Babar Awan to consider to support his two resolutions in the Senate Session to be commenced today (Tuesday).

He said that in this regard, he has already submitted two resolutions to the Senate Secretariat and has also written a letter to Prime Minister Imran Khan suggesting that the international financial institutions should be requested under force majeure law for deferment of repayments and loans in wake of the adverse effects of coronavirus on Pakistan’s economy.