LAHORE: Pakistan People’s Party Punjab President Qamar Zaman Kaira has said that the PPP will convene a multi-party conference (MPC) on coronavirus crisis very soon.

In a statement issued here on Monday, he said the PPP wants a national consensus on the situation and for the purpose will shortly assemble all political parties on a single platform.

He regretted that the federal and provincial governments delayed the adoption of Bilawal Bhutto’s suggestions for tackling the deadly disease.

He welcomed the Punjab government’s decision of following in the footsteps of the Sindh government by announcing a 14-day lockdown in the province.

He said leaders have to make difficult decisions in extraordinary circumstances like PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto took the difficult decision of not criticising the prime minister.

PPP parliamentary leader in Punjab Assembly Syed Hassan Murtaza has also welcomed the Buzdar government’s decision of lockdown in contradiction to the stance of Prime Minister Imran Khan.

He said CM Usman Buzdar truly represented the public sentiment by taking the step as otherwise the province would have witnessed Iran and Italy-like situation where every other family is victim of corona disease.

He criticised the prime minister for not announcing lockdown to give a national policy on curtailing the virus and said that Imran Khan would be held responsible for the loss of life to be caused by his reluctance to go for the measure successfully adopted all over the world to tackle the issue.

Published in Dawn, March 24th, 2020