Multi-party moot pushes for cohesion against COVID-19

Opposition, govt’s allies demand joint national strategy with everyone on board

ISLAMABAD: The participants of a multi-party video conference including the PPP, the PML-N and other opposition parties as well as coalition partners of the ruling PTI on Tuesday pushed the federal government to present a national action plan for curbing the spread of the novel coronavirus in the country.

They also called for chalking out a joint national strategy with the opposition parties on board to tackle the rapidly spreading disease, which has engulfed the entire world. Among other suggestions, it was also proposed that Prime Minister Imran Khan should immediately call a meeting of the Council of Common Interests (CCI) to address the situation. The participants called for forming a national task force, which should include representatives of all political parties.

The conference was jointly presided over by PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly and PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif.

“It was the federal government’s responsibility to engage political parties [in this situation] but this step is being taken by the Leader of the Opposition Shehbaz Sharif, the PPP and other parties,” Bilawal said during the conference.

“The federal government did not make the quick and difficult decisions that were needed to contain the spread of this disease in time. Prime Minister Imran Khan is not just the prime minister of Islamabad but of the whole country,” he added.

“We have held this conference to put forward our demands and suggestions and also let the nation know that political leadership of the country is on the same page in the face of this crisis.”

The PPP chairman further said Sindh needed the federal government assistance to meet its requirements including more testing kits, protective gear for medical staff and ventilators.

PML-N President Shehbaz praised the Sindh government’s efforts to stem the spread of the disease and suggested that PM Imran should hold CII meetings on a daily basis.

“The Sindh government should present a charter of demands to the Centre, and we will endorse it,” he added.

Shehbaz said the federal government should prepare a national action plan and share its details with the public.

“I think there has already been too much delay and we can’t afford to waste more time.”

Backing the PML-N president’s proposal, Bilawal said political parties would present their own action plan against COVID-19 if the federal government failed to do so.

Participating in the conference, PML-Q leader and Punjab Assembly Speaker Pervaiz Elahi said the fight against the disease could only be won through unity.

JUI-F General Secretary Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri said his party would provide volunteers if needed to deal with the ongoing crisis. We will assist in any way we can [against the disease],” he added.

Balochistan National Party-Mengal chief Akhtar Mengal told the participants that there were three stages in dealing with the crisis: precautionary steps, diagnosing the infected people and then their treatment.

“The treatment stage is the most difficult of all. If we look at China, there’s a world of difference between their healthcare facilities and the ones at our disposal,” he pointed out.

“If the political parties express their will and take along the people, the federal government will be compelled to join us as well. We will endorse any positive step whether it is taken by the government or the opposition.”

Awami National Party’s Mian Ifthikhar Hussain stressed the need for making the conference successful by following it up with practical steps.

“The government needs to stop criticising its political rivals. We must face this crisis together,” he said.

Jamaat-e-Islami chief Sirajul Haq lamented the government’s absence from the conference.

He added that the coming Friday should be observed as Yaum-e-Toba (day for seeking God’s forgiveness).

MQM-P Convener Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui noted that the spread of the disease could only be curbed by imposing a lockdown.

National Party’s Hasil Bizenjo, Qaumi Watan Party’s Aftab Sherpao, MQM-P’s Faisal Subzwari, Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party’s Usman Khan Kakar, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, PPP leaders Raja Pervez Ashraf, Sherry Rehman and Farhatullah Babur and PML-N’s Ayaz Sadiq and Marriyum Aurangzeb also participated in the conference.

In a resolution passed by the participants of the conference, it was agreed that “by now the government should have called such a conference of all political parties and set in motion a comprehensive national action plan with all stakeholders on board.

“It is a matter of grave national concern, and all political leaders have pledged on their own to unite against what needs to be a war effort, but a single day’s delay in taking decisions are costing valuable lives,” it read.

“Messaging for public safety is crucial in changing social attitudes, and all resources including private TV channels as well as the clergy must be nationally engaged by the federal leadership to use their pulpits for amplification of life-saving messages.”

The resolution called for a national task force, which should include representatives of all political parties

“Immediate actions must include health sector actions, economic management and public messaging that must use all platforms for protecting the public as well as the medical workers on the frontlines of this fight. Brave doctors like Dr Usama must be appreciated with the highest civil awards and the entire medical community should be given protective gear before anything else.”

The opposition parties condemned the leadership deficit on the part of the federal government, and demanded that crisis management committees be formed at all levels, from the provinces to the local bodies tiers, with all parties’ representation be formed immediately by the government to “manage the ravages of this unprecedented risk to Pakistan and all humanity”.

Relief efforts must use local bodies as well for outreach, while philanthropic and volunteer efforts should be streamlined.

The conference was “united and vociferous” in appreciating the Sindh government’s efforts and the chief minister’s proactive leadership.

“Sindh’s charter of demands, which were endorsed by all leaders include the federal government’s urgent operationalisation of an effective national lockdown, because without full coverage and coordination across the country, one province cannot continue to impose effective containment measures on its own,” the resolution read.

“This means all public transport, including passenger trains must be stopped forthwith. Private transport may be allowed in case of immediate need. However, in case the federal government cannot impose this, it must go for a full lockdown. The lockdown should be coupled with expanding capacity for testing, beds, ventilators, ICU facilities, PPE, and isolation centres to be effective.”

The conference demanded that the poor must be immediately protected. “The following measures must be taken: BISP data and other poverty alleviation programs to identify the most vulnerable must be used. Each household must be given Rs15,000. Sindh has identified 40 % of such household who would need such help. For fast-tracking such delivery, the provinces must be allowed to negotiate with foreign governments and international donor agencies directly.”

The participants demanded that the testing capacity as well as the general health service capacity should be immediately enhanced to identify affected patients.

“Government-run isolation centres are urgently needed for treating patients, and large scale-testing capacity kits and PPE for health professionals. Electricity bills up to Rs5,000 and gas bills up to Rs2,000 should be paid by the state, as Sindh has pledged. To promote economic activity, interest rates need to be slashed, and oil price reductions be passed to Sindh as well.”

The parties emphasised that this should be a national approach, with no province left out of the consultative loop and suggested that PM should call meetings of CCI on a daily basis so that all the federations units were on board and no one was left behind.

All parties endorsed the PML-N’s national coronavirus strategy presented by Shehbaz. The parties also urged restoring local governments as they were closest to communities and played an effective role in any community related initiative.

While urging an immediate lockdown to save lives, the participants advised immediate steps to give real relief to daily-wage workers, small businesses and all vulnerable groups. This, they agreed, would only be made possible by making timely, coordinated policy in consultation with all provinces.

As part of the wage and ration lifeline provision to vulnerable sections of Pakistan, it was emphasised that the government must do more.

“Relief on global oil prices must be passed on to the poor, while industries that pay daily wage earners who cannot come to work must continue to pay salaries as Sindh has legally mandated, while giving advances and other benefits in times of such distress. The BISP income support supply lines must be scaled up, while subsidies and food ration distribution must be made a priority. Industries and big employers that need a stimulus package must be given that, like the world over.”

The scale of the medical emergency is huge, and can scale up exponentially in weeks, the participants observed, and called for immediate steps to reduce dangerous gaps in testing kits, hospital beds, quarantine capacity, protective gear for health workers and ventilators.

Whenever a vaccine is made available, it must be provided directly to provinces, while border quarantine facilities must be real quarantines, with hygienic testing facilities at border entry points on all sides.

“The Taftan quarantine experience was highly contaminating, and instead of quarantining or containing the virus, proved to be the point of real contagion for many, because they were not tested at all, and must be avoided at all costs.”

It was agreed that lockdowns and social distancing were critical to flattening the curve of the pandemic, but that it was not enough.

The parties condemned the “growing atmosphere of media coercion and the restrictions of freedom of speech and demanded the government’s focus on solving Pakistan’s urgent issues”.