Bilawal Bhutto Zardari says Sindh to announce special package for doctors

KARACHI: Chairman Pakistan People’s Party Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has said that doctors fighting bravely the COVID-19 pandemic are our national heroes adding that the Sindh government would give them a special package similar to the one given to the brave soldiers fighting against terrorism.

The PPP chairman was addressing the office-bearers of the People's Doctors Forum at the Bilawal House, Karachi, on Tuesday through a video link. PDF President Dr Karim Khawaja, Punjab President Dr Khayyam Hafeez, Dr Javed Iqbal and Dr Arsalan Dewan, Sindh President Dr Razzaq Sheikh, Dr Yar Ali Jamali, KP President Dr Nisar Ahmad Khan and Dr Dawood Iqbal, Dr Ashiq Hussain Shah and Afzal Abro and others participated.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that the federal government's failure to provide an economic bailout package had reduced the effectiveness of the lockdown and led to further spreading of COVID-19.

He said the federal governments all over the world have given such relief packages but ours has given nothing except continuing the Benazir Income Support Program funding started by the PPP. The PPP chairman said he was talking about giving a relief package not only to Sindh but to all the provinces alike but instead of helping, the federal government was placing obstacles in our way.

He said that the federal representative – governor – to Sindh is not even signing the relief package ordinance given to the people by the Sindh government to only create hindrances. The package includes job and salary protection for the people of the province, rebates on utility bills, relief in school fees and rebates on house rent. The Sindh government wants to give relief to the people of the province in all the provincial taxes through this ordinance, he added. He further said that we also want the lockdown to come to an end but before that, we have to ensure the safety of people.

He demanded large number of test kits for all the provinces and increase the facilities in hospitals to cope with the situation.

About medical facilities, he said that the federal government is not doing anything even in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa where the people have given them the mandate. We say that not only Sindh but the Federation should also help all the provinces as they all desperately need assistance, he added. The PPP chairman claimed that the Federation and all the provinces should realise that timely measures taken by Sindh did not allow the COVID-19 epidemic to worsen.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari directed the People's Doctors Forum (PDF) to intensify the public campaign to keep the people safe from the pandemic and to make them aware of safety measures.

Earlier, in the meeting, the party chairman was briefed about the medical facilities in the country. Meanwhile, Bilawal Zardari said that Balochistan government’s decision to extend the lockdown for another 15 days was in accordance with the ground situation and endorsed its views that “so far the only effective defence against corona has proven to be #Isolation #SocialDistancing and #lockdown.”