LAHORE: The PML-N says that Prime Minister Imran Khan is the first head of the state in the world who is begging in the name of Covid-19.

“For a population of 220 million, only 300,000 Covid-19 tests have been carried out so far showing the incompetence of this inept PTI government,” PML-N Punjab Information Secretary Azma Bokhari said in a statement here on Wednesday.

She said Mr Khan’s focus was on begging the world in the name of the deadly virus instead of fighting it in the country. He had the same agenda while representing the country at the World Economic Forum.

She also alleged that the Punjab government was not conducting tests aggressively.

“The number of coronavirus cases is high in Punjab but the number of tests is low. There is a lack of coordination among the federal and provincial government regarding a strategy to stop the spread of the virus,” she said, adding that more than 1,000 cases were being reported daily in the province, but the Buzdar administration was not doing enough about it.

Ms Bokhari said the death of PTI MPA Shaheen Raza because of coronavirus showed that the Punjab government had failed to take enough measures to fight the virus. The Buzdar administration had earlier claimed to have a capacity to conduct 6,000 tests per day.

Meanwhile, PML-Q President Chaudhry Shujaat Husain and Punjab Assembly Speaker Pervaiz Elahi expressed grief over the demise of MPA Raza.

The PML leaders said the deceased MPA used to often submit call attention notices regarding people’s problems in the Punjab Assembly. They prayed for her and patience and solace for her bereaved family.

Published in Dawn, May 21st, 2020