MITHI: Adviser to Sindh chief minister on universities and boards Nisar Ahmed Khuhro has said that federal government has miserably failed to come up with a comprehensive policy to combat coronavirus threat in different parts of the country.

Khuhro, who was also president of the Sindh chapter of Pakistan Peoples Party, told journalists after presiding over a meeting on upcoming death anniversary of party founder that Imran Khan’s government had adopted a callous and indifferent attitude towards the virus threat.

He said that in fact Khan, his team members and aides were sitting cross-legged as the situation was going from bad to worse and coronavirus positive cases were being reported from many parts of the country.

He, however, lauded Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah and PPP government for tackling the challenge head-on and taking exemplary measures. He hoped “efficient officers” with the help of party workers would overcome the crisis within a short period.

Khuhro said that there was no need to panic and instead there was need to create awareness among people about precautions against spread of the virus. “We are committed to provide maximum facilities to people in case of an emergency situation due to outbreak of the virus which has already shaken the entire world,” he said.

He said that timely and swift actions taken by the Sindh government against possible outbreak of the virus would go a long way to minimise human losses. The chief minister, his team and PPP leaders and workers would leave no stone unturned to provide best possible facilities in the hospitals and quarantine centres being established by Sindh government, he said.

He said that even political opponents were showering praise on the chief minister and his team for their response to the threat. They would continue to stand by people in all difficult times unlike federal government, which was just making a mockery of peoples’ misery, he said.

He alleged that Prime Minister Imran Khan and his aides had taken the virus threat lightly and they would pay dearly for their pathetic and indifferent attitude towards people of Sindh.

He said that federal government always meted out step-motherly treatment to people of Sindh be it locusts attack or the present virus threat because the province had rejected the party that ruled the Centre and they would always reject such elements who, according to him, did not even believe in human values.

Khuhro termed alleged smuggling of masks a cruel joke with people of Pakistan in the face of serious threat of the virus outbreak in the country. All the elements who were involved in such inhuman acts at a time when the entire world was going through the worst human crisis of its history should be taken to task, he said.

He said that Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf rulers would never bother to think for people, who were already facing hardships due to record inflation and price hike. It was high time for rulers to lower prices of petroleum in the wake of record decline fuel prices in international markets, he said.

Khuhro said that nobody would be allowed to steal mandate of Umerkot people in by-election for PS-52. Voters would themselves teach a lesson to those, who were rejected by them earlier as well, he said.

He warned that any move by federal government and its allies to rig election would be resisted by voters and party workers and asked the party’s opponents to stop daydreaming about sneaking into power through backdoor.

Local lawmakers Dr Mahesh Kumar Malani, Qasim Siraj Soomro, Mir Muawwar Talpur, Krishna Kumari Kolhi, Gyanchand Tharani, Fakeer Sher Mohammad Bilalani, Rana Hamir Singh, Surendar Valasai, Mir Tariq Talpur, Noor Hassan Bhurgari, Khairunnisa Mughal, Shusheel Malani and party leaders were also present at the meeting.

Published in Dawn, March 16th, 2020