Minister lashes out at federal govt for lack of timely action

Nasir claims federal govt ignored thousands of travellers arriving from foreign countries

KARACHI: If the federal government had taken necessary preventive measures to curb the spread of coronavirus on time, the country's situation would have been different, said Sindh Information Minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah.

Addressing a press conference alongside Sindh Education Minister Saeed Ghani and Sindh Energy Minister Imtiaz Ahmed Shaikh on Thursday, Shah stated that the Centre first focused its attention on the Taftan border and now on members with Tableeghi Jamat.

No one batted an eye when thousands of people arrived in Pakistan from foreign countries that are badly hit by the virus, he said, adding that these individuals, who entered unscreened, became a source of spreading the coronavirus in the country.

He further said that Prime Minister Imran Khan did not take the provinces, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir on board regarding initial attempts to control the outbreak.



"It was only the Sindh government that took timely steps to prevent the spread of the coronavirus," he claimed. "It was the first to contact the Civil Aviation Authority and provide a team of doctors at the airport which could screen people coming from foreign countries."

Criticising the PM's approach to the lockdown too, Shah pointed out that when the Sindh chief minister first decided to impose a lockdown in the province, the premier's response was not positive.

Moreover, he said, federal ministers continued pointing fingers at the Sindh government, though it was not the right time for the blame game. He added that the need of the hour was to work together and not try to score points, but time was lost in this.



"The federal government did not show seriousness in curbing the spread of the virus," he claimed, adding that the Sindh government's measures against the pandemic were misreported and an impression was falsely created that people were committing suicide due to the lockdown. "The fact of the matter is that the Sindh government is reaching out to all the needy people with the help of the welfare organisations and facilitating them."

Meanwhile, speaking about ration distribution, Ghani claimed that 400,000 families had been provided with rations so far, while another 5,00,000 families would be provided with essential food items soon.

He further alleged that the federal government did not cooperate with Sindh on data verification, adding that the provincial government was reaching out to the needy with the help of the Pakistan Army and welfare organisations. 

Published in The Express Tribune, April 10^th, 2020.