No members from the Opposition parties attended the Parliamentary Committee on Coronavirus chaired by National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser today at the Parliament House in Islamabad.
Addressing a press conference after the meeting, Federal Minister for Information Shibli Faraz said the opposition leaders were missing in the meeting. “They attended previous four meetings and submitted suggestions to contain coronavirus spread. We implemented those important recommendations.”
“Today’s meeting was attended by PTI lawmakers and coalition partners. The intention behind this meeting was to reach a consensus on strategy to contain the rising spread of COVID-19 in the country.”
Terming opposition parties’ boycott of the meeting as ‘irresponsible’, Faraz said the current situation concerns the entire country in terms of economy, population and health.
“Boycotting a meeting on the country’s health and economic situation is not a good decision,” he added. “We expect the opposition to cooperate with the government and not politicise the pandemic.”
“Our strategy to limit infections during the first wave has been commended by the world. And now that we are experiencing the second wave, we need to strategise again. This is not to score points.”
He said the social activities that increase coronavirus spread should be stopped and only economic activities should be allowed to stay open.
Ahead of the meeting, Faraz said an important issue such as the coronavirus should not be politicised. “We hope the opposition leaders will participate in the meeting and give their recommendations on dealing with the pandemic.
