Punjab Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Parvez Elahi met Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar here on Saturday and discussed the situation arising from coronavirus outbreak in the province.

At the meeting, the two leaders discussed the prevailing situation with particular reference to the measures taken in Punjab for protection against coronavirus. It was decided on Parvez Elahi’s request that the provincial government would set up the Punjab Government Corona Emergency Fund. It was decided at the meeting that all assembly members and officers of grade 16 to 22 of the Assembly Secretariat would donate their one month salary to the fund.

On the issue of donation of one month salary to the fund, the speaker held consultations with parliamentary leaders of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, Pakistan People’s Party, Pakistan Muslim League, Rah-e-Haq Pakistan and independent candidates and heads of parliamentary committees. All parliamentary parties appreciated Parvez Elahi’s idea and expressed their willingness to donate their one-month salary to the fund.

In this regard, the speaker held consultations with PML-N’s Malik Nadeem Kamran, Chaudhry Iqbal Gujjar, Rana Muhammad Iqbal, Khawaja Salman Rafique, Samiullah Khan and Atta Tararr; PPP’s Syed Hassan Murtaza; Raah-e-Haq Pakistan's Mohammad Moawiya and others. He said that in the prevailing situation Punjab was facing a great danger from this contagious disease and it could be overcome by adopting preventive measures and keeping politics aside.

Parvez Elahi said that mass awareness campaigns should be run in addition to the preventive measures being taken by the federal and provincial governments to check the spread of coronavirus.