Umar schools Bilawal on govt's Covid-19 response

Federal Minister for Planning and Development on Saturday hit back at PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari over his remarks that federal government would be held responsible if Covid-19 situation turned deadlier in Karachi like India.

“Bilawal Zardari says if what happened in India happens in Karachi PM [Imran Khan would be held] responsible. Mr Zardari what you wanted.. Lock down lock down lockdown..,” said the minister in a series of tweets from his official handle on Saturday.

Earlier in the day, Bilawal had said he will hold PM Imran and other ruling PTI ministers responsible if Covid-19 situation in Karachi turned deadlier like India, which faced acute oxygen shortage and devastating surge in coronavirus infections.

He was referring to the federal government’s criticism of lockdown, imposed by his party’s government in Sindh.

Umar while responding to Bilawal said complete lockdown policy was implemented by India and it caused “devastation” in the neighbouring country.

“[It] was done in India & the world saw the devastation. Crores (millions) thrown into poverty from which they have still not recovered. Economy shrank 7%,” he tweeted.

In another tweet, Umar while recalling last year’s meeting said that the PPP leader had told him that he believed in “Imperial study which had predicted 78 thousand deaths in Pakistan in a single day”.

“Remember Mr zardari last year you told me in a meeting that you believed in the Imperial study which had predicted 78 thousand deaths in Pakistan in a single day. This is obviously a subject that you do not understand very well. Please do not politicize the Covid response,” said the minister.

Umar who also heads NCOC — Pakistan’s nerve centre of Covid-19 response — said PM Imran’s strategy to contain coronavirus produced “dramatically superior results”.

“Strategy based on PMIK [PM Imran] vision of protecting both lives and livelihoods, produced dramatically superior results. Indian economy had the worst year since independence and Pak econ grew 4%. At the same time Indian per capita covid mortality is 3 times higher than Pakistan,” he added.