PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday urged the government to convene the Council of Common Interests’ meeting and cooperate with all the chief ministers, especially those of the opposition, to counter the coronavirus pandemic.
Addressing a press conference via video link, Shehbaz also called for the formation of a national task force comprising all political parties.
He also suggested other steps including import of necessary equipment including ventilators and safety kits for doctors, establishment and shifting the quarantine at suitable places, free coronavirus tests for people and the arrangements for providing food and medicines to the needy.
About generating the finances for the abovementioned steps, Shehbaz said the government should immediately slash the interest rate by 3 to 4 percent, which will mean that the country would save up to Rs80 billion in debt servicing annually.
The amount should be diverted to fight the pandemic, he said, adding that Pakistan should leave the IMF deal if the Fund objected to that.
The PML-N chief said that the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) – currently serving around 5.4 million families – should be expanded, as he also asked for registering the poor families [labourers and daily wagers] currently living in the cities so that the government could pay them Rs3,000 per month as stipend.
Another relief measure listed by Shehbaz was reducing the POL prices by Rs70 per litre with immediate effect, saying the move would not result in any additional burden on the government as the oil prices in the global market had already tumbled.
The salaries of doctors, nurses and other paramedical staff should be doubled so that they could perform their duties with full focus.
Shehbaz criticised the government for delaying the lockdown and the affairs at the Taftan border crossing, saying it resulted in the spread of the virus which was an alarming situation.
On occasion, he said the PML-N will provide one million kits to the doctors and paramedical staff.
The PML-N president said the coronavirus threat demanded unity and joint efforts, adding that it wasn’t the time for doing politics.
He urged the government to take the media into confidence to create awareness among the masses and said Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman – the owner of Jang/Geo Group – must be released for the purpose.