Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry on Friday skipped the National Assembly session despite the directives of the Deputy Speaker.
In a tweet, Fawad Chaudhry expressed that he intended to go to the Parliament House today, however, he added that he skipped the session after three parliamentary reporters and two senators tested positive for COVID-19.
ڈپٹی اسپیکر کی خواہش کے احترام میں اج پارلیمان جانے کا ارادہ کیا ، لیکن تین پارلیمانی رپورٹرز اور دو سینیٹرز کے کرونا مثبت آگئے ہیں اور یہ اب طے ہے کہ ان کو کرونا پارلیمان کی عمارت سے لگا لہذا۶ ارادہ ملتوی کر رہا ہوں امید ہے جلد ورچوئل سیشن بلایا جائیگا جہاں تسلی سے بات ہو سکے گی
— Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) May 15, 2020
The federal minister further wrote that it is confirmed that the coronavirus has infected reporters and two senators from the Parliament building, “So I am postponing my intention to attend the National Assembly session,” he wrote in a tweet.
Earlier, he said in his tweets that he had written a letter to NA Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri in this regard, suggesting the MNAs must have been briefed on the pandemic by any virologist or scientist. He said that if anyone wanted to make political statement, he could summon a press conference as coming to the assembly for only making speeches was of no use.
He said, “NA has failed to discuss the coronavirus outbreak, why is it spreading, what have we done so far and when is the world going to create its vaccine?”
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases has surged to 37,218 in Pakistan, while the death toll stands at 770.
According to National Command and Control Center (NCOC), as many as 9,695 patients have recovered from the disease, while 153 are said to be critical as the country is still witnessing a consistent rise in the COVID-19 cases.