Prime Minister Imran Khan Sunday said the PDM will be responsible for consequences if the government is compelled for imposition of complete lockdown in country, as they are continuing with their gatherings despite alarming increase in Covid-19 cases.
“In (Pakistan), the PDM by continuing with jalsas (public gatherings) is deliberately endangering lives & livelihoods (because) if cases continue to rise at the rate we are seeing, we will be compelled to go into complete lockdown & PDM will be responsible for consequences,” the prime minister said on Twitter.
He said Pakistan’s second Covid-19 spike data is of concern showing 200 percent each increase of patients on ventilators in Peshawar and Multan during last 15 days, Karachi 148%, Lahore 114%, Islamabad 65%. The capacity of ventilators utilization had touched 70 percent in Multan and Islamabad, he added.
The prime minister said across the world there was a second spike and complete lockdowns in most countries. “I do not want to take measures like a lockdown that will start hurting our economy which at the moment is showing signs of a robust recovery,” he remarked. However, he said the opposition is callously destroying people’s lives and livelihoods in their desperation to get an NRO. “Let me make it clear: they can hold a million jalsas but will not get any NRO,” he categorically said. He viewed that unfortunately, the opposition’s only goal was NRO at whatever cost to the lives of people and the country’s economy.
A day earlier, Prime Minister Imran Khan had said that the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) was playing ‘reckless’ politics over people’s safety, which in the past it had been calling for imposition of strict lockdown due to Covid-19. The prime minister’s remarks had come ahead of scheduled public gathering of 11-member coalition of opposition parties in Peshawar where the Covid-19 positivity rate has reached above 13 percent. “The same PDM (members) who had wanted a strict lockdown and criticised me earlier, now playing reckless politics with people’s safety,” the prime minister said on Twitter. He said the PDM members are even defying court orders and holding a public gathering when cases are rising dramatically.
Minister for Information and Broadcasting Senator Shibli Faraz on Sunday said putting lives of people at risk during the prevalence of severe danger of coronavirus was political cruelty and oppression. In a tweet, he said mentality of selfish political coterie was exposed as it was playing with lives of innocent people and workers for minor political advantage. The criminals who maligned the national institutions and destroyed the national economy now went after lives and employment of people, the minister added.
He said with their irresponsible behaviour they were now affecting jobs and employment of people. People would hold them accountable for coronavirus of corruption, he said adding holding the public meetings, despite the court orders was violation of law.
Shibli Faraz said that complete boycott of people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) from Pakistan Democratic Movement’s public gathering in Peshawar is testimony of their strong political acumen. In a statement, he said, “I appreciate commendable people of KP on this boycott, which shows how much political well-aware they are,” Shibli Faraz said while commenting on the PDM public gathering in Peshawar.
He added on the appeal of Prime Minister Imran Khan, the people of KP have not only protected themselves from coronavirus while avoiding the rally but also failed the agenda of PDM parties which is against the people of Pakistan. He said that lack of interest and participation in smaller number of people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in PDM public gathering was ample proof of their no-confidence on opposition parties’ agenda. He said that coronavirus is a reality, not fiction. Despite court order, their resistance of holding public gathering is clear example of their inflexibility and anti-people agenda, he added.
“They always prioritized petty political gains rather giving priority to respect to law and protecting health of people,” he said, and recommended the participants of the PDM public gathering to go for self-quarantine in order to ensure protection of their own and others health.
Khyber Pakhtunkwa Chief Minister Mahmood Khan said that Peshawar has rejected 11 parties of PDM who failed to attract people from across the province for rally. In a statement, he said that people of Khyber Pakhtunkwa stood again with Prime Minister Imran Khan. He said that leadership of PDM disregarded public safety against Covid-19 for their politics. He said that Peshawar was and will remain the strong fort of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf.
