ISLAMABAD, 19 April, 2020: Addressing a press conference at the Media Cell in Bilawal House, the PPP Parliamentary Leader in the Senate, Senator Sherry Rehman urged the federal government to send out a unifying message and said that” It is the time to fight corona, and not each other. When national unity is required more than ever, the federal government must not fuel chaos and confusion. There has to be an end to political point scoring. What we urgently need is a uniform strategy to tackle this growing threat as a provincial government, or a city alone cannot stamp out this deadly contagion”.
Addressing the unnecessary criticism on Sindh, the Senator said, “Despite criticism and no assistance from the federal government, Sindh has been leading from the front in the fight against COVID-19 and has demonstrated clear leadership in a dangerously confused policy mix. Federal government has not regularly facilitated the efforts of Sindh government and the BISP has been unconstitutionally rebranded as the Ehsaas programme. However, we will not indulge in a war of words as this is the time for national unity where all of us must be on the same page”.
“Regardless of all this criticism, Sindh’s testing capacity has increased and it is exploring different avenues to increase testing facilities. Separately, all workers and leaders of the PPP are busy mobilising and providing aid to all provinces in forms of ration, and in places cooked food. Soon, we will be sharing details of how much and where,” Rehman added.
Commenting on the lack of unity among provinces in the fight against COVID-19 outbreak, the Senator questioned, “Where is National Action Plan ( NAP) on fighting the Coronavirus ? At that time all political parties, despite differences, all provinces were on the same page. We need a similar stance once again”.
Lauding Sindh government’s proactive efforts in containing the virus, the Senator said that” Since the beginning, Sindh has been clear and transparent about all facts and figures related to COVID-19, including numbers on how many ration bags have been distributed to the poor and vulnerable”.
Pakistan Peoples Party Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has instructed the party’s leadership to collaborate and fully cooperate with the federal government in the battle against the coronavirus. Since his first press conference, Chairman PPP clearly stated that he will not criticise the PM as this is the time for all of us to be united in the fight against coronavirus.
PPP Parliamentary Leader in the Senate, Senator Sherry Rehman concluded by saying that “It is important to remember that we have to fight the pandemic and not each other. For this, preparation and planning is needed and that is only possible when our policy is crystal clear and there is no confusion as we need to give a clear message to the public. This is not common flu and we need to take it seriously. WHO is constantly reminding us to “Test, Test and Test” as it is the way forward. In this moment of crisis, saving lives of our citizens must be our top priority”.
