The opposition lawmakers in the National Assembly on Wednesday continued criticism of government's coronavirus strategy, saying the federal government should chalk out a joint strategy - with all the provinces onboard - to fight the deadly disease.
Taking part in the debate in a special session to discuss Pakistan's strategy against the pandemic, ex-prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi lambasted the government for not taking the provinces on board, while taking decisions pertaining to the outbreak of the COVID-19.
The opposition is willing to work with the government but the centre should form a unified strategy on the pandemic, he said, adding the only achievement of the current government is comparing Pakistan's coronavirus cases to other countries and claiming that the country has far fewer cases than predicted.
"The masses are making fun of the parliament," Abbasi said, adding, there should be a consistent awareness campaign, a strategy to deal with the crisis, a containment strategy and an economic management policy as the rise in the pandemic cases is unprecedented.
"We have a 19 per cent infection rate...there is no testing or treatment protocol, people are getting tested randomly," he claimed.
"On March 3rd, the federal cabinet decided not to give personal protective equipments (PPEs) to the provinces and then they question our behaviour. Do not lie so much that you start believing your own lies," said Abbasi.
The ex-premier also questioned the purpose of the Corona Relief Tiger Force, saying they could only arrange funerals and nothing beyond it, which is quite appalling.
Taking his turn to reply and address the house, Education Minister Shafqat Mehmood said Tuesday's Senate session was an attack on the government and Prime Minister Imran Khan instead of a discussion on how to deal with the deadly pandemic that has gripped the country.
He responded to the accusation of not taking the provinces on board, while taking imperative decisions, and said the prime minister formed National Coordination Committee (NCC) and National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), with representatives of the provinces present in the decision-making loop.
"The meetings of these committees are held daily and chief ministers of all provinces are present. How can they say they are not taken on board, while taking decisions," he questioned.
Rejecting the opposition's claim that his government wanted to do away with the amendment, Mehmood said the 18th Amendment was a law, "and laws always have room for improvement".
Urging the opposition to not indulge in petty politics, he said the country has to take a balanced approach, when it comes to the economy and health.
The PTI MNA on seats reserved for women Andleeb Abbas flayed the opposition parties for their undue criticism of Prime Minister Imran Khan's government, saying coronavirus situation would have been far worse if the PPP or PML-N had been in power.
She reminded everyone that both PML-N and PPP had criticised the government for not bringing back students from Wuhan - the epicentre of China's outbreak - which later turned out to be the correct decision.
She called out Khaqan Abbasi for accusing the government of having no strategy to deal with the pandemic, and said: "He [Abbasi] says we do not have a strategy. Let me tell you about their strategy. If they had their way, they would have brought back our students from Wuhan and then the country would have been in a worse condition than it is right now."
She continued that the examples of the US and Iran are privy to us all as they brought back their citizens from China and their conditions has become worse compared to other countries of the world.
Responding to criticism over poor quarantine facilities at the Pakistan-Iran border near Taftan, she said the government had asked Iran to hold Pakistanis for a little while longer so that better arrangements could be made in Taftan.
"But they [Iran] had refused to do so and the government had to make emergency arrangements for them," she said.
MQM-P lawmaker Sheikh Salahuddin seconded Abbas' stance, pointing out that the opposition had criticised the government for not bringing back stranded Pakistani students from Wuhan.
"But the government did the right thing by not paying heed to opposition's demand. Today, it has been proved that that decision was right," he said.
PPP leader and former prime minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf expressed regret over the government's "failure to step up to the challenge".
Ashraf said New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was the only leader in the world who had taken timely steps to curb the spread of the virus and took her nation into confidence, while formulating a strategy.
He added that his party's chairperson, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, was the first leader who had voluntarily announced he would extend support to the government in this time of crisis.
Ashraf said it was the prime minister's responsibility to unite the nation at a time when it was facing a great challenge.
"The prime minister dealt a blow to national unity when he left the multi-party conference without listening to the chief ministers," he regretted.
Awami National Party (ANP) and former chief minister of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, MNA Amir Haider Khan Hoti, called for unity among opposition and the government, saying, "we cannot fight against the coronavirus, if we continue to wage a war" among ourselves.
He said instead of shifting blame, the parliament needed to take "collective responsibility" as every party had been in power at some point or another.
"We are all responsible for the state of our current health system," he said.
Speaking about easing restrictions, he posed many questions to the government: "Have we acted too early, too fast? Have we reached our peak? Have we flattened the curve or are we moving towards herd immunity? Are we all on the same page."
Independent lawmaker Mohsin Dawar questioned the effectiveness of the lockdown imposed across the country, saying that a majority of people, including police officials, did not understand the concept of social distancing.
He said effective containment of the virus was not achieved with life in most areas continuing as per routine.
He also pointed out the limited number of tests conducted in the country, especially in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, where most of the deaths were recorded.
The State Minister for Climate Change, Zartaj Gul Wazir, said true leaders were those who created opportunities during a crisis, adding the entire world has acknowledged Prime Minister Imran Khan's initiative for debt relief for developing nations struggling to combat the coronavirus.
PPP MNA Abdul Qadir Patel said that each and every criticism made by the opposition was advice for the federal government.
"We stand by our demand to bring back students stranded in Wuhan. By all means bring back stranded Pakistanis but make proper arrangements. National borders and infectious diseases are the responsibility of the federal government", he said.
He said that it was understandable that the "PM Khan is not in attendance during today's session due to his age as people in that age group were more susceptible to the virus", due to which can excuse his absence.
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