ISLAMABAD, May 12 (APP):Senators on Tuesday stressed the need to devise an effective national action plan besides forging unity to deal with the unprecedented challenges posed by coronavirus (COVID-19).
Opening debt on various motions that the House may discuss the grave situation arising out of coronavirus epidemic, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, Raja Zafarul Haq said the federal and provincial governments should be on the same page to contain the spread of Coronavirus.
He said the government should have summoned the sessions of both Houses due to grave situation due to COVID-19. Unfortunately both sessions were not summoned and the opposition had to requisition the session, he added. He was of the views that the constitutional institutions should be fully functional in such critical time.
Zafarul Haq said it was high time to forge national unity and unison , rather than dividing the nation in this critical time.
He opposed the relaxation in lockdown, saying it may lead to increase in Covid-19 cases. Lockdown was eased despite specific reservations of doctors and health practitioners, he added.
Leader of the Opposition Raja Zafarul Haq appreciated the consistent assistance being extended by China to Pakistan in the battle against COVID-19 the virus.
He regretted that a ‘super power’ was unduly blaming China for spread of the
virus, which was false and baseless.
The Leader of Opposition also expressed concerns over the oppression
unleashed by Modi government in Occupied Jammu and Kashmir and massacre of Muslims in India.
He said occupied Kashmir people had no access to medical supplies and
treatment due to lockdown.
Taking part in the debate Sherry Rehman of Pakistan People’s Party Parliamentarian (PPPP) said that unwarranted hate campaign had been launched against his party and provincial Sindh government.
She said such tactics would vitiate the political atmosphere. National unity was need of the hour to deal with unprecedented challenge posed by coronavirus, she added.
She said meeting of Council of Common Interest was not convened although it
was an appropriate constitutional forum.
She said only corona virus issue should be discussed in current scenario.
Musadik Malik of PML-N said opposition parties in the House wanted to give
some positive suggestions to make the strategy on COVID-19 more effective.
He said the there should be an effective lockdown even after Eidul Fitr as
was imposed in early weeks after the virus hit the country.
First, he said there was the need to annihilate the virus by imposing
a 4 to 6-week lockdown, following which it could be eased gradually after
assessing situation on ground.
He called for bifurcating the whole country on wards and unions councils
basis, adding there should be 100 percent testing of the all those having the
virus symptoms. Besides, the localities should be categorized as Red,
Yellow and Green zones, he added.
Mushtaq Ahmed of Jamaat-e-Islami criticized the easing of the lockdown
at a time when the number of COVID-19 patients was increasing in the
country.
He suggested the government to increase the virus testing capacity and
provide all necessary safety equipment to health workers and doctors, who
were playing a role of frontline warriors.
He called for devising a National Action Plan to effectively combat the
looming threat of the deadly virus that took hundreds of thousands lives
across the world in just a few months.
He also expressed concern over the deteriorating economic situation
and underlined the need for taking remedial measures.
PML-N’s Javed Abbasi said there should be strict screening of all those
entering Pakistan either through air or ground route. The situation would be
better, if the screening was carried out in letter and spirit, he added.
He underlined the need for increasing the virus testing capacity across
the country, and review the strategy of easing the lockdown as the number
of cases was increasing with each passing day.
Abbasi said it was not the time of political point-scoring, but to exhibit
a greater unity and evolve a consensus strategy to stem the spread
of the virus.
Later, Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani adjourned the House to meet again on
Thursday at 12:00 p.m.
