RECORDER REPORT

LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Mian Shahbaz Sharif on Tuesday expressed concerns over the rising number of coronavirus cases and death rate in Pakistan, and urged the government to devise an effective national strategy to cope with the pandemic.

He also demanded a meeting of the Council of Common Interests (CCI) on the Coronavirus outbreak in the country. “Had there been a strategy in place at the time of the imposition of lockdown or when the decision was taken to lift it, the number of Covid-19 cases in the country would not have increased at such a rapid rate,” Shahbaz said in a statement posted by the PML-N’s official Twitter account.

The PML-N President asked the government to ‘not waste more time’ in creating an effective national strategy to cope with the Coronavirus. “The nation should be informed about the testing data and what strategy is in place to stem the spread of the virus,” he added. Shahbaz also urged the masses to take precautionary measures against the Coronavirus.

It maybe noted that the PML-N leaders on a number of occasions blamed the government for the rising number of the Coronavirus cases in the country and criticized the government for not having a strategy to deal with the pandemic.

On the other hand, PML-N Secretary General Ahsan Iqbal in a press conference here along with Sardar Owais Ahmed Khan Leghari expressed concern over the loss of crops due to a locust attack. “Despite the warning issued by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the government failed to arrange aerial and on-ground spray for crops and adopt preventive measures,” Ahsan said. “Mango crop in south Punjab is on the verge of collapse while the locust attack has caused damage to the cotton crop.” He said the government should immediately announce a relief package for the farmers whose crops were damaged.

The PML-N leader observed that the inept government has neither the capability nor a plan to address the challenges. “The only focus of the government is to snub the opposition through the NAB,” he added.