Murad demands commission on hunger, poverty in Thar

ISLAMABAD, May 11 (APP):Minister for Communications Murad Saeed Monday demanded formation of a commission on the stark hunger and poverty in Thar and on the Sindh government’s failure to improve situation in the badly neglected area.

Speaking in the National Assembly during debate on the coronavirus pandemic, the minister also vehemently raised the issue of water scarcity in Karachi and Thar.

The minister was of the view that the lockdown was successful in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab, however, it could not be properly managed in Sindh.

He said the government of Sindh should tell about the use of funds allocated for providing rations to the people. It should tell the nation about Rs 5. 5 trillion given to it in the last eight years for the health department.

Ambulances, stretchers, medicines and other facilities were missing in the hospitals of Sindh, he added.

Murad said recently a child in Dadu was killed due to the dog bite, adding total 93,000 dog bite cases in Sindh, including 29,000 in Larkana, were reported.
Wheat was stolen from the warehouses and cash was embezzled in the direct cash transfer programme in Sindh, he noted.

He said not much was done in the health sector in the last 70 years but now the government led by Prime Minister Imran Khan had embarked on a programme of reforms in the health sector.

A World Bank article appreciated the Ehsaas programme and asked the world to follow such programmes for alleviating suffering of poor people, he added.
He lauded doctors, paramedical staff and the Pakistani students stranded in Wuhan, China for their bravery during the coronavirus pandemic.

He assured that the government would respond positively to the suggestions of the members of Parliament on coronavirus.

He said the world’s best economies and health systems proved to be helpless against the coronavirus pandemic.

He said 40 percent people in Pakistan were living below the poverty line and Prime Minister Imran Khan made efforts to save Pakistanis especially daily wage earners from poverty and hunger during the present health crisis.

He said the government announced a relief package of Rs 1,200 billion to help people during the coronavirus pandemic. The government also distributed Rs 12,000 each among 2.3 million deserving families. A package of relief would also be announced for small business owners.

The government also announced financial assistance for those who would retain their employees.

He said Pakistan increased its testing capacity to 25000 tests per day and would increase it further.

He said the concept of smart lockdown was introduced by the government of PM Imran Khan and now it was being followed by the governments in New York and London.

The minister said the opposition was playing politics on the issue of coronavirus.

He criticised the opposition leader Shehbaz Sharif for not attending the session of National Assembly at such a critical juncture.