ISLAMABAD: National Assembly (NA) Speaker Asad Qaiser on Tuesday said that the coronavirus pandemic is a global issue which can only be fought through joint efforts and attributing its spread to any religious group or sect is unacceptable.
He said this during a video conference held at Parliament House with representatives of Tablighi Jamaat from Raiwind.
Minister for Interior Brigadier (r) Ijaz Shah, Minister for Religious Affairs Pir Noorul Haq Qadri and Minister of State for SAFRON Shehryar Afridi, representatives of Ministries of Health, Interior, Foreign Affairs and Aviation Division were also present during the meeting.
The NA speaker said that the Tablighi Jamaat had immense contributions for spreading Islam in the world. “They have always portrayed the real image of Islam which underlines peace, harmony and interfaith tolerance,” he added.
He said that multiple factors led to the spread of coronavirus globally and it should not be associated with any religious sect or group. “The government is cognisant of the concerns of people associated with Tablighi Jamaat, thus important ministers and senior representatives their ministries had been called to listen and address their problems,” he added.
The representative of Tablighi Jamaat thanked the NA speaker for his initiative and informed him that government functionaries had been very cooperative with them. He said that arrangements must be made to transport more than 1,500 foreigners on preaching missions in Pakistan to their respective countries.
He suggested allowing local people who were tested negative to leave for their native areas. He also informed the attendees that 500 Pakistanis on preaching missions abroad were stranded in different countries and arrangements must be made to bring them back to Pakistan. He assured the Tablighi Jamaat’s all-out support for jointly tackling the pandemic.
He also suggested allowing Afghan nationals who are on preaching missions to leave by land routes to their country.
The interior minister said the government would make all necessary arrangements for safe transportation of all the foreigners and stranded Pakistanis, once the data was available. He said that the government was cognisant of the coronavirus pandemic and was making all-out efforts to keep its citizens safe.
The NA speaker appreciated the assurance of the interior minister and constituted a committee to with Afridi as its convener and representatives of Ministries of Health, Interior, Foreign Affairs and Aviation Division as its members to collect data of all foreigners in Pakistan and stranded Pakistanis abroad and suggest measures to transport them back home. He also directed the NA Secretariat to notify the committee so that it could start its functions as soon as possible. The speaker also directed for associating representatives of four provinces, Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) with the committee in this regard.
