LAHORE: Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shahbaz Sharif expressed grave concern on the shortage of vaccines in Pakistan, saying that this unavailability is another proof of the government’s “criminal negligence and incompetence”.
“The Opposition had sounded the alarm time and again for the government to ensure timely booking of vaccines to keep the populace safe from the virus,” the PML-N president said in a Tweet today (Sunday).
Shahbaz Sharif called upon the federal government to change its approach with regard to procuring vaccines. Planning should be done keeping in view the 220 million population. The narrow view of relying on donations needs to change,” he added.
چند لاکھ ڈوز منگوانے اور خیراتی ویکسین سے کام چلانے کی چھوٹی سوچ تبدیل کی جائے
کورونا ویکسین کی عدم دستیابی حکومت کی مجرمانہ غفلت اور نااہلی کا ایک اور ثبوت ہے
اپوزیشن نے بار بارخبردار کیا کہ عوام کی زندگیاں موذی وائر سے محفوظ بنانے کے لئے بروقت ویکسین کی بکنگ کرائی جائے
— PML(N) (@pmln_org) June 20, 2021
He went on to state that “just as people with vested interests lined their pockets by scamming people over the sale of wheat flour, sugar and medicines, the same is being repeated when it comes to coronavirus vaccines”.
“It is regrettable that the government, when it comes to the lives of the people, is displaying the most serious form of criminal negligence,” he said, adding, “Theft of public funds is rampant and the provision of services to the public is zero.”
“The people are being punished for the government’s thievery, incompetence and poor planning, which is regrettable and condemnable,” the PML-N president added.
Earlier in the day, a special plane of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) carrying 1.55 million doses of the Sinovac vaccine reached Islamabad from China amid shortages of the vaccines.
The National Command and Control Centre (NCOC) said that the batch was part of the “planned contracted quantity purchased from China”. it said measures have been taken to transport the doses to all federating units
The NCOC added that another batch of two to three million Chinese vaccine doses is expected next week followed by continuous supply. “China, as a time-tested friend of Pakistan, has taken special measures to ensure the uninterrupted supply of vaccine to Pakistan,” the NCOC said.
