Govt hits back at opposition’s tirade

PM says those seeking complete lockdown are bulldozing Covid SOPs

ISLAMABAD:

The government on Monday hit back at the opposition Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), saying that the “corrupt” leaders were out to save the ill-gotten wealth through their antigovernment rallies amid the second wave of coronavirus.

Prime Minister Imran Khan said that the PDM leaders were bulldozing the standard operating procedures (SOPs) put in place by the government to stem the second tide of the deadly contagion, which has gripped the country.

Several federal ministers also came down hard on the PDM’s latest rally in Multan, and critical speeches of the opposition leaders there. They said that opposition politicians were protecting their leaders’ corruption.

The PDM held a rally in Multan on Monday in defiance of government’s restrictions on public gatherings because of coronavirus threat. The Islamabad High Court (IHC) also upheld the measures in the wake of second Covid wave across the country.

“Those who chanted slogans of complete lockdown are bulldozing corona SOPs,” said the prime minister, while talking to Adviser on Parliamentary Affairs Babar Awan.

According to Express News, the prevailing political and economic issues were discussed in the meeting.

During the meeting Imran emphasised that saving lives from coronavirus pandemic was the foremost, while stabilising the economy was the next priority. He added that the Covid-19 SOPs were being bulldozed by those who raised slogans of a complete lockdown.

Commenting on the rally, Information Minister Senator Shibli Faraz said that the PDM leaders, who were involved in corruption and money laundering cases, could not befool the nation.

“The masses have rejected PDM chief Fazlur Rehman and other leaders by not attending their public meetings.” Faraz said in an interview that the opposition parties had showed their immaturity by holding a public gathering in Multan.

“It showed that they did not have any interest in public health issues amid rising coronavirus cases in the country,” he said.

“The government had tried its best to get their public meeting postponed, but they held the meeting in total disregard for the anti-Covid standard operating procedures putting the people’s lives at risk,” he added.

As regards the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), the minister said the Bhutto’s party was a federal party, but [former president] Asif Zardari had now converted it into a regional party of Sindh.

Responding to a question, Faraz said the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government would complete its term.

Faraz’s views were echoed in a tweet by Science and Technology Minister Fawad Chaudhry. “The Bacha [kids] Party, led by Godfather, is running the Abu Bachao [save the father] campaign,” Chaudhry tweeted about the PDM’s Multan rally.

“The way in which coronavirus SOPs were mocked in Maryam Nawaz’s speech shows her intellect. What does she want to prove by not wearing a mask? It is unfortunate that such non-serious and arrogant leaders want to lead Pakistan. May God protect us from that leadership after coronavirus.”

And addressing a news conference in Rawalpindi, Railways Minister Sheikh Rashid reiterated that the public meetings could not send the government packing and stressed that Prime Minister Imran Khan would complete his five-year tenure.

He repeated his earlier statement that Prime Minister Imran was ready to hold dialogue with the opposition on every issue except the NRO and NAB cases.

“The national kitty became empty due to the corrupt elements and the inflation skyrocketed due to the [plunder by] dacoits and thieves,” he said. The minister said that the government wanted to protect the people from coronavirus but the opposition wanted to expose people to the contagion through their public meetings.

“The government has employed efforts to contain the spread of Covid-19,” he said. He mentioned that the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari contracted coronavirus during PDM’s public meeting in Peshawar, while many others also had been tested positive after attending the Gujranwala rally.

Rashid condemned JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s statement of confrontation with the government, warning of “serious repercussions” of any such move. He, however, praised PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif’s call for holding a national dialogue and pointed out that the PML-N president held a different narrative as compared to his brother Nawaz Sharif.