QUETTA: Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan Alyani has alleged that the federal governm­e­­nt, the National Disaster Manage­ment Authority (NDMA) and other provinces have not provided required assistance to Balochistan for coping with the situation created after people returning from Iran were required to put in quarantine centres at the Taftan border due to outbreak of Covid-19.

Talking to reporters here on Monday, he said the provincial government used its own resource to deal the situation at the border.

He said no financial support had so far been received from the federal government to deal with the situation at the Taftan border. The NDMA only provided 1,200 tents, blankets and plastic sheets, he added.

The chief minister said the Balochistan government had so far released Rs2 billion for making arrangements to stop the spread of Covid-19.

Provincial Finance Minis­ter Mir Zahoor Ahmed Bule­­di, Home Minister Ziaullah Langove, Health Secretary Waheed Mudassar Malik, Information Secretary Irfan Shah Gharsheen and Pro­v­incial Disaster Management Authority’s Managing Dire­ctor Imran Zarkhoon were present on the occasion.

CM Alyani said his government had been in a state of alert since cases of coronavirus were reported in Iran. “In the first phase we closed our borders with Iran,” he added.

He said keeping in view the sensitivity of the matter, the Balochistan government took many safety arrangements.

Published in Dawn, March 31st, 2020