PTI accuses Sindh govt of spreading panic about COVID-19

Instead of providing facilities to fight COVID-19, the Sindh government has been spreading panic among the people, while the provincial administration’s characteristic mismanagement, especially in the health care sector, is at its peak, claimed the central vice president of the Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf (PTI) on Sunday.

Haleem Adil Sheikh, who is also the PTI’s parliamentary party leader in the provincial assembly, told a news conference at the Insaf House that health care facilities in the entire province are in a shambles.

“There are no proper facilities even at government hospitals, including the JPMC [Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre] and the [Dr Ruth KM Pfau] Civil Hospital Karachi, and desperate patients have been taking their lives by jumping off of roofs.”

He said that instead of clean water, the people of the province are forced to drink water mixed with sewage. “There is an acute water shortage from Karachi to Thar. Eighty per cent of the RO [reverse osmosis] plants installed in Thar for over Rs7.5 billion are faulty and in non-working condition.”

Sheikh claimed that Syed Murad Ali Shah is just a puppet chief minister of the province, while the real power is vested in his handlers. “The Sindh government and its ministers are badly confused and clueless about how to deal with the [novel coronavirus] pandemic.”

The PTI leader said the CM had alleged that the Tiger Force was political. “I would like to tell him that social celebrities are part of this force.”

He said that politically, the chief executive himself is in quarantine. He also said the provincial government wants to pit the people and the police against each other. “Over 10,000 FIRs have been lodged against citizens for their so-called lockdown violations.”

Sheikh claimed that there is another conspiracy behind the COVID-19 situation. “In the entire world, governments are preparing to fight the virus, but the Sindh cabinet has passed a subsidy of Rs2.5 billion for captive energy project owners.”

He said Rs4 billion in subsidies has been provided to sugar mills, which are projects of the Omni Group. He added that Sindh has also launched a tractor scheme and contracts worth Rs6 billion have been silently given to the irrigation sector.

The PTI leader said that a new tender has been issued for the Tori embankment despite the fact that the previous contract for the embankment remains incomplete. He saluted Sindh Governor Imran Ismail for “his commitment to the people of the province”, and condemned “false propaganda against the governor”. He also prayed for the early recovery of Pakistan Peoples Party leader Rashid Rabbani, who has been infected with COVID-19.

Sheikh said data on 2.6 million people is available at a click but the Sindh government is not willing to provide rations to them, so the needy are getting money from the federal government’s Ehsaas programmes.

He said the COVID-19 relief ordinance of the Sindh government was sent to the governor for political point scoring. He pointed out that gas and electricity are beyond the domain of the provincial government.

The PTI leader claimed that drug dens have been operating in the locality of Labour and Education Minister Saeed Ghani. He said the Sindh government has left the people at the mercy of AIDS, rabid dogs and viruses. He advised Indus Hospital CEO Dr Abdul Bari Khan not to become the spokesman of the provincial government, and instead run his charity hospital with dedication.

Sheikh said the provincial administration should focus on improving its performance. Sheikh saluted the journalists of Sindh, saying that like the Punjab government, Sindh’s administration should also announce a special package for them.

PTI leader Hunaid Lakhani said on the occasion that they have distributed rations in different districts of Sindh. He claimed that RO plants in Tharparkar are faulty. Lakhani said the poor do not have rations to feed their children. He said that due to the lockdown, people are not going out. He added that in the areas where the PTI distributed rations, the provincial government’s officials were nowhere to be seen. PTI MPAs Dr Saeed Afridi, Kareem Bux Gabol and Dua Bhutto, and leaders Jam Farooq, Samir Mir Sheikh, Saifullah Abro and Razaq Bajwa were also present at the news conference.