Opposition urged to put off rallies amid virus upsurge

ISLAMABAD:

Federal Information Minister Shibli Faraz on Wednesday urged the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) to put off its public gatherings – a day after the 11-party alliance of opposition parties announced that it would stage its rallies despite the ban imposed on them by the government in the wake of the rising cases of Covid-19 in the country.

“We have also suspended all our political rallies and urge the opposition to do so as well as coronavirus cases are on the rise in the country,” the minister said at a news conference in Islamabad.

Shibli maintained that the opposition parties were not even ensuring compliance with the standard operating procedures (SOPs) to prevent the spread of the disease at their public gatherings.

He added that the SOPs were not followed at the PML-N’s rally in Manshera.

“People should avoid attending public gatherings.”

The country reported 2,208 coronavirus cases on Tuesday, taking the tally to 363,380. An addition of 37 fatalities pushed the death toll to 7,230.

Shibli said an awareness campaign had already been launched to educate the people about the pandemic. He added that the decision about educational institutions in the country should be closed or not would be made in the coming days.

Speaking about the PDM rejecting the results of the recent Gilgit-Baltistan elections, the minister said the people of the region had rejected the opposition parties.

“In what capacity are you not accepting the results? You have plundered the nation’s wealth and brought shame to the country’s institutions. You have no right to question [the elections],” he added.

Shibli said the opposition leaders giving “conflicting statements” following the G-B elections was only “natural” as the constituent parties of the PDM were neither on the same page, nor had a plan.

“Their statements, given the time and situation, only shows that they have lost their sanity.”

The minister particularly criticised JUI-F chief Fazlur Rehman, the PDM president, for his remarks a day earlier.

The Maulana maintained that the G-B polls were rigged and a “repeat” of the 2018 general elections.

Shibli said the JUI-F chief had no political identity or presence in G-B but was making such claims about the polls in the region.

The minister added that the opposition parties should accept the results of the G-B elections.

In an apparent response to PML-N leader Maryam Nawaz's speech in Mansehra earlier in the day, the minister said that the people had rejected her party in the 2018 elections and now people of G-B had also dismissed its “anti-state” narrative.

Talking about the Sharif family, Shibli claimed that politics was just a business for them so that they could protect their personal interests.

“Your speeches start with your own family and end there as well. You were just a businessman and will remain so. Your narrative has been rejected by the people of Pakistan. If you have any self-respect, which I doubt you have, then instead of delivering speeches to protect your interest, you should think about the people of this country,” he said in an apparent reference to the recent fiery speech of PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif.

The minister said the country's economy was improving because of the prudent policies of the government but the second wave of coronavirus could affect it.

 

 

(With input from APP)