Govt Strategy On COVID-19 Moving In The Right Direction: Shibli Faraz

Minister for Information and Broadcasting Senator Shibli Faraz said on Thursday the government has tackled COVID-19 in an organized manner and its strategy against pandemic was moving in the right direction

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 28th May, 2020 ) :Minister for Information and Broadcasting Senator Shibli Faraz said on Thursday the government has tackled COVID-19 in an organized manner and its strategy against pandemic was moving in the right direction.

Addressing a press conference here, the minister said soon Pakistan would come out of the difficult period under the dynamic leadership of Prime Minister Imran Khan.

He said the government was reviewing the situation emerging out of the coronavirus on daily basis and taking steps to deal it effectively.

Shibli said that Prime Minister Imran Khan was very clear to protect both lives and livelihood as the continued lockdown would have badly affected daily wage workers.

The model of complete lockdown had failed almost all over the world and there was no plan under consideration to adopt it, he added.

He said that the masses will have to show responsibility and adopt social distancing by following Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). The situation in Pakistan was far better than neighbouring India and many other countries as death rate here was far less than other countries, he added.

The minister said Yaum eTakbeer was the day to remember 1998 nuclear blasts but it was also a day for the renewal of pledge that with commitment and determination the nation could achieve any goal. He said that Pakistan believes in peaceful coexistence in the region but its desire for peace should not be considered its weakness.

He said that when Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz came to power in 2013, its finance minister Ishaq Dar, who escaped from the country in connivance with Shahid Khaqan Abassi in 2018, issued Rs 484 billion to Independent Power Producers and these details have been unearthed by Senator Mohsin Aziz and Auditor General has also pointed out all the irregularities with facts and figures.

He said that track record of PML-N showed that they do not believe in "scoring singles", rather they want to "hit sixes" and Dar hit a six by issuing Rs 484 billion through single cheque.

Shibli Faraz said that Shahid Khaqan Abbasi as loyal worker of Sharif family patronized the sugar mafia which was led by Salman Shahbaz, the son of Shahbaz Sharif . He said while giving subsidy, various steps were neglected to benefit the Sharif family. The subsidy in itself was not a bad thing but its benefit should go to the farmers and not sugar barons, he remarked.

About the locust attack, he said that this phenomenon had appeared after 27 years but the government had made full preparations to tackle it. He said that National Locust Control Cell was being established to face this challenge. He said that presently locust was present in five divisions of Punjab and some areas of Baluchistan and Dera Ismail Khan in KPK. Shibli Faraz said that there was a threat of another locust attack on Pakistan from Africa in early July.

However he said that preparations were done to tackle the situation as ample pesticides were available and six planes were available for fighting locust.

Three more planes would be available by July 15, he said. The government was ready to meet the situation if any flood emergency situation arises during monsoon .

Replying to questions, the minister dispelled the impression that the Federal government had a discriminatory policy towards Sindh and said that Prime Minister Imran Khan always thought of and cared about entire Pakistan.

The minister said it was unfortunate that PPP played a negative role with regards to COVID-19, and now in relation to locus attack. He alleged that Sindh government was politicizing the locust crisis, in order to defame the federal government and to cover up its own failures. Shibli Faraz said that PTI cannot ignore Sindh as it would form the government in the province after next general election, as PPP had been confined to Larkana.

Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, he said, used to attend the NCOC meetings and agreed to the decisions but later indulged in political point scoring as their policy on locust had failed, like coronavirus.

He said that people of Sindh were brothers and close to the heart of PTI leadership which had won 14 seats from Karachi.

About the government's tough stand on the sugar mafia and its allies the minister said that the allies would remain part of the government God willing and it would complete its tenure. However, he added there would be no compromise on principles, which was not the case in the past and and this pushed back the country as well as those political parties.

For Imran Khan, he said, it was more important to see what was in the best interest of the country and people, adding to take care of the daily wagers, labourers and small shopkeepers or those who work in private firms were his priority.

About PML-N and its leadership claiming credit of making country a nuclear power, he said that he would like Energy Minister Omar Ayub to place facts about the matter; how were decisions made and what was their (PML-N) position thereon. He pointed out that a lot had been said and written and Gohar Ayub, Omar Ayub's father was also part of the then government and his book was also in the market.

Shibli said the history was witness to it, what and how it happened. He said that Zulfikar Ali Bhutto had a great role in making Pakistan a nuclear power and Ghulam Ishaq Khan as President withstood pressures and took things forward. He said that Sharifs claim in making Pakistan a nuclear power was like eating a baked cake. He questioned, "Should we give the credit to those who prepared the cake or those who ate it?."To another question he said those who were doing politics on coronavirus and locustattack were in fact trying to hide their mega corruption cases.