Shibli Faraz asks political parties to shun blame game on COVID-19

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Information and Broadcasting Senator Shibli Faraz has asked political parties to act responsibly and avoid blame games on tackling the challenge of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Addressing a press conference along with Minister for Communications and Postal Services Murad Saeed, he said, unfortunately, some political parties were indulging in political point-scoring on the issue of COVID-19.

The minister said Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah was part and parcel of the decision-making process in the National Coordination and Operation Centre (NCOC), but he had the habit of issuing baseless statements later, adding the opposition could not digest the way the PTI government had handled the crisis.

He said Pakistan People’s Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari also during a press conference today had made baseless allegations against the federal government which was an effort to mislead the masses.

He said, “Coronavirus has emerged as the major global issue and every affected country is struggling to tackle the virus,” adding that the lockdown has badly affected the world economy, resulting in growing poverty around the world, especially in developing countries like Pakistan.

Shibli Faraz said the government had adopted a comprehensive roadmap to handle the COVID-19 challenge which was being appreciated at the world level.

He said the government had adopted the policy of saving lives as well as protecting the vulnerable segments of the society from hunger and starvation.

He said despite economic constraints, the government gave a mammoth stimulus package of Rs 1.2 trillion to provide cushion and support to every segment of the society affected by the contagion.

All the stakeholders including medical experts and chief ministers of the provinces were part of the NCOC which had been collecting and monitoring data on a daily basis and formulating a future line of action, he added.

Shibli Faraz said that standard operating procedure (SOP)s must be strictly enforced by people while calling the pandemic a combined national problem that needs to be fought together.

The minister said the incumbent government is taking concrete measures to facilitate the marginalized segments of the society in the wake of COVID-19 epidemic.

Faraz said any strategy by the PM Imran Khan with regard to the COVID-19 response was focused on making sure the group that is economically weak in Pakistan were not drastically impacted by the epidemic.