PM given false impression on virus response during Quetta visit: Mengal

QUETTA: Balochistan National Party-Mengal chief Sardar Akhtar Mengal on Thursday said that the Balochistan government had given Prime Minister Imran Khan "a complete false impression" during his visit to Quetta's Bolan Medical College.

The prime minister had today visited a quarantine centre at the hospital where he was briefed by the provincial chief secretary about facilities provided to patients.

He was also briefed about the steps authorities have taken to stem the virus's spread in the province.

An ally of the PTI at the Centre, Mengal, however, in a statement, sought to warn the prime minister to not be misled by the government of Balochistan, which is chiefly ruled by the Balochistan Awami Party.

"On ground, there is absolutely nothing," Mengal said in his tweet. "There are no testing kits or health facilities available in Quetta, so one could imagine the situation in the interior." He alleged that the Balochistan government "has been completely negligent and is completely responsible for the spread of [COVID-19] throughout Pakistan".

Mengal's party, though an ally of the PTI at the Centre, is in the opposition in the provincial government. Balochistan has currently reported 219 cases of the coronavirus and two deaths.