ISLAMABAD: Dispelling the impression of a rift between civil and military relationship, Minister of Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry on Sunday said that both sides are working jointly against the coronavirus outbreak in the country.
Speaking on a television programme, the minister said that there was no difference of opinion on handling of issues of national interest. Voicing concern over the attitude of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leaders who “using political gimmicks” over the coronavirus situation, he said that the people had confined the leadership of PPP to the areas of interior Sindh. He said that the country was facing a number of challenges, including dwindling economy, poverty, and unemployment, adding that there was dire need to address these matters with collective efforts and political wisdom.
The minister said that Prime Minister Imran Khan representing is the only leader in Pakistan, who holds unbelievable potential to take the country forward in every field.
Responding to a question, he said that narrative built by the opposition parties in the current situation could no longer be effective as the people are now well aware of the role of the premier, who striving hard to improve the lives of the poor masses.
Fawad was of the view that opposition parties were facing agony nowadays because they could not find a wise leader for running the affairs of their constituencies in a proper manner.
Commenting on coronavirus situation, he said that despite extraordinary economic resources, the Western countries could not combat the dangerous virus that had digested thousands of precious lives around the world. He lauded the administration for taking unprecedented measures in time when first patient of coronavirus was detected in Pakistan.
“Look at the Americans, Spanish, Italian and England who could not control the vulnerability level in their respective jurisdictions with all modern equipment and financial resources,” he stated.
“Pakistani leadership, on the other hand, had successfully managed to overcome the situation in all parts of the country despite meager financial reserves,” he added.
Responding to a question, he said that all the national level issues could be handled with collective participation of stakeholders.
Citing the example of the Army Public School (APS) incident, Fawad said that all the political parties had unanimously passed the resolution on implementing the National Action Plan. He added that PM had also taken the bold decision for constituting a committee for resolving the issue of rigging in the election.
The minister said that a similar National Action Plan was need of the hour for tackling the coronavirus crisis and the necessary lockdown in the country. He, however, said that a complete lockdown was not a feasible option for poor nations and suggested that observing standard operating procedures (SOPs) and precautionary measures for protecting the people from the deadly virus would help resolve the problem.
