The blame game between government and the opposition parties continued on Thursday in the Upper House of parliament over handling of the coronavirus crisis, with treasury benches underlining the need for exhibiting greater national unity by all political parties to tackle the threat, especially the post-Covid-19 challenges.
“At this time, we need national unity so that the coming challenges, which will be harder than of today’s, could be tackled effectively,” Leader of the House in Senate and Minister for Information Shibli Faraz said while participating in debate on virus containment strategy in Senate. He asked the opposition not to indulge in blame game and avoid political point-scoring at this critical juncture. “It has requisitioned the parliamentary sessions and its leaders must have attended the sessions instead of making the health issue as an excuse,” he added.
He asked five questions from the opposition about their strategy regarding Covid-19: whether the opposition wants a nationwide curfew; whether it wants closure of mosques across country; as to what the government should do till the anti-corona vaccine is invented; where is the opposition which had requisitioned the parliamentary sessions for debate on the crisis, he asked.
Faraz said from the day one, the government had devised an effective strategy to contain the spread of coronavirus despite having limited resources, which worked and yielded the required results. He said there have been over 1.4 million confirmed positive cases and 100,000 deaths in the United States which has a gross domestic product of around $3 trillion. “Whereas, in Pakistan, the number of confirmed cases is just 30,000 and deaths below 1,000, which reflects the effectiveness of the government policy towards controlling the virus spread,” he claimed.
Regretting the absence of Prime Minister Imran Khan from the session, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Senator Mushahid Ullah Khan said that it is ‘very unfortunate’ that the premier ‘did not fulfill his responsibilities’ during the crisis. He recalled that his party’s president Shehbaz Sharif and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari had offered the government help in dealing with the crisis. “Ask Shehbaz, ask Bilawal, ask Sirajul Haq. They are ready to help,” he said, adding, “Even [JUI-F chief] Fazlur Rehman said that 40,000 volunteers from his party are ready to help with coronavirus relief efforts […] but the government rejected the offer.”
He criticised the government for not having a national strategy. “Government says we hold meetings every day. Where are the decisions from those meetings?” he questioned. He also questioned the timing of controversy surrounding the National Commission on Minorities, saying the government ‘couldn’t spare the issue during the pandemic’. “Why is Noorul Haq Qadri (religious affairs minister) talking about these things [now]?” he asked. “We can compromise on everything except our faith. I request the government to protect our faith. Put them [Ahmadis] in the minority commission but they must admit that they are non-Muslims,” he said.
In response, Faraz advised the opposition not to raise sensitive issues that would hurt the nation’s sentiments as the country is in need of unity and not division during this difficult time.
Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) Senator Usman Khan Kakar said conspiracies against the 18th Amendment have been going on for a ‘long time’. “The government is unhappy as the people [provinces] were being empowered, the 18th Amendment gave the provinces equal powers in some areas,” he said.
PPP Senator Rehman Malik called on the House to pass a resolution that poor people will be tested for the disease free of cost. “They have the foremost right to get tested,” he said.
PML-N Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed said that the government’s message to the people regarding the epidemic lacked clarity, saying ‘it’s not the messenger but the message’ which is problematic.
Meanwhile, the Senate passed a resolution unanimously by expressing its deep appreciation to the Chinese government and people for their unflinching role and timely assistance to Pakistan in the current coronavirus crisis. “The Senate of Pakistan, taking note of China’s strong support and timely assistance to Pakistan during the current coronavirus crisis, expresses its deep appreciation to the Chinese government and people for their unflinching role as ‘all-weather friends’ of Pakistan,” said the resolution moved by the Leader of Opposition Raja Zafarul Haq on behalf of all parties in the House.
The Senate also rejected the baseless propaganda against China from certain quarters, “which stems from geopolitical rivalry and is more an attempt to divert attention from their own internal failings as it has no factual basis.”
