PML-N trying to avert masses’ attention from dengue

The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), while condemning the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) rally against load shedding, said that the Sharif brothers were trying to avert attention of the citizens from the dengue issue since the provincial government had failed in coping with the epidemic. When contacted, Opposition Leader in Punjab Assembly (PA) Raja Riaz Ahmad, said that the Punjab government had failed to control dengue owing to late sprays and fumigation as well as lack of its interest in public related issues. Raja Riaz said that more than one hundred innocent people had died due to dengue uptil now, showing that the Punjab government had failed in controlling the epidemic. He said that the PML-N government was now trying to divert the attention of the citizens from the dengue issue, hence, it had started a campaign against the federal government in the name of load shedding.He said that if the Punjab government failed in controlling dengue then a protest rally in this regard could also be staged outside the CM’s Secretariat. PA Deputy Parliamentary Leader Shaukat Basra, while talking on the issue, said that there Sharif brothers were wrong in holding rallies against the federal government regarding load shedding as they already knew the factual position about the reasons of electricity shortfall. He said that Punjab CM Shahbaz Sharif was not serious in dealing with issues of public interest, like dengue, adding that this was the reason he did not attend any of the assembly session nor bothered to answer the opposition’s queries. Talking to Daily Times, PPP Punjab Information Secretary Dr Fakharruddin Chaudhry, said that the Punjab government itself had requested the federal government to stop water supply, adding that the electricity shortfall could not be met owing to this disruption in the hydropower production. Dr Fakhar further said that the Sharif brothers were fully aware of the electricity situation across the country as well as the efforts being made by the federal government to overcome it and yet they had started a game of political point scoring over the issue of load shedding, which was “unfair” and an “irresponsible act” on their part. Meanwhile, PPP Lahore Leader Hafiz Muhammad Ikhlaq said that although load shedding was a pressing issue, more people were dying due to dengue. He added that load shedding was a gift of the Nawaz Sharif and Musharraf governments, whereas the current PPP government had been trying to conquer the menace by increasing power generation.