Govt, opposition leaderships have taken unified stance on national issues: Shafqat

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Education and Professional Training Shafqat Mahmood Monday said the government and opposition leaderships had always taken unified stance on national important issues which was commendable.

The discussion between the incumbent government and opposition parties were part of the democracy and the COVID-19 graph had reduced to a great extent due to combined efforts against the pandemic, he said talking to a private news channel.

The minister said all the stakeholders including chief ministers were devising strategies with consensus and consultations with National Command and Operation Center (NCOC).

The national institutions were attending the NCOC meetings to contain the spread of coronavirus outbreak, he added.

He urged all the opposition parties not to do politics on COVID-19 because it was a national cause which should be controlled and curbed jointly.

He asked the people to adopt standard operating procedures and other precautionary measures including maintaining social distance during the Eid-ul-Azha and Muharram processions.

Replying to a question, he said Prime Minister Imran Khan was an honest and righteous person and his present and past was clean while the opposition leaders such as former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and president Asif Ali Zardari were convicted in the several corruption cases.

He said Nawaz Sharif went abroad for medical treatment on the humanitarian ground and he should come back to face the corruption cases against him.

PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari was enjoying luxurious life on the basis of black money made by his father Asif Zardari, he added.

Regarding Kashmir, Shafqat Mahmood said the prime minister had comprehensively highlighted the Kashmir issue at all available fora including the United Nations General Assembly that was why; western media was criticizing the hegemonic designs of India.