Government accused of maltreating quarantined patients

LAHORE: Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Senator Sirajul Haq has alleged that the government is treating the coronavirus patients kept in quarantine as “criminals,” accusing that government is not even giving the patients prescribed medicines and food in isolation wards.

“These helpless people deserved sympathies. First, government packed the suspected patients in crowded places like classrooms, then disowned them completely with apathy,” he said while addressing a meeting of the party’s central office-bearers on Thursday at Mansoora.

He alleged that the government was committing gross negligence in preventing coronavirus spread from the day one. “The corona pandemic could have been effectively controlled at Taftan border by putting the pilgrims in quarantine and treating them. If it was done, there would have been very few patients in the country today,” he said, adding that so far government had only made statements after statements without any practical measures.

Siraj demanded of the prime minister that instead of collecting new donations and making the hungry masses wait for vital needs, he should distribute the Rs1200 billion and other relief goods the government already had. He said poor masses had been anxiously waiting for the promised relief package and vital medicines, masks, etc. “When government will receive more donations and funds, those should be spent later on,” he advised the PM.

Sirajul Haq said clear-headed and moderate people of the country had rejected the Tiger Force project as ‘waste of time and resources.’ He said the PM must remember that the nation had been rejecting his confused and dilly-dally policies and statements. This formula of distributing corona funds to the masses is already a failure and needless idea, since millions of teachers and census staff who is fully trained in reaching out to people was already there to do the job in transparent and much better manner. He said that preventing the vitally needed funds from embezzlement and misuse was solely the responsibility of the PTI government.

Later, during a visit to a charity blood transfusion organisation, Sundas Foundation, Sirajul Haq said all the opposition parties had assured the government of their full cooperation in countering coronavirus, but Prime Minister Imran Khan had refused to reciprocate the positive gesture of opposition parties, and squandered away a golden opportunity of creating a rare national unity and harmony at this crucial juncture of history.

He expressed sorrow that Prime Minister Imran Khan had badly failed in evolving a central policy to counter coronavirus, forcing every province to make its own strategy since he was not ready to come out of his shell of narcissism.

He lamented that the meeting of federal cabinet the other day also failed to give any fresh hope to the nation. He warned that it was not time of politics and prejudices, but the need of the hour was to join hands to save the nation from the impending calamity and disaster.

He lamented that thousands of children suffering from Thalassemia were badly hit by the lockdown and were fighting for their lives as blood donors had vanished. He assured the suffering children of blood donations from the workers of JI youth and other sister organisaitons.