Shortly after testing positive for coronavirus, Prime Minister Imran Khan was seen meeting with people from his government and giving orders, leading to serious backlash from social media users who disliked Imran’s lack of protocol after being infected.
One netizen on Twitter remarked that he had been seeing images of PM Imran – most often shared by a member of his government – meeting with various officials, and commented, “Even Trump and Boris aren’t this stupid”.
Another user asked the head of the National Command Operation Centre (NCOC), Asad Umar, if PM Imran was above the law and disregarding the standard operating procedures (SOPs). He asked how the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) could “expect the common man to behave differently”.
As the public outrage continued to mount, PM Imran’s media team came to the forefront in an attempt to assuage the worries of the masses.
National Health Services Regulations and Coordination Parliamentary Secretary Dr Nausheen Hamid insisted the meeting was held keeping all safety protocols in place.
“PM Imran Khan was sitting at a distance of least 25-30 feet; all the participants were wearing face masks; all the windows were open and the room was a very big one,” she said.
In spite of the insistence that SOPs were followed, social media users have taken offence at the premier’s axiomatically careless actions in the face of the third wave of the deadly pandemic.
Many Twitter users have been replying directly to the tweet of Information Minister Shibli Faraz, wherein it was first revealed that PM Imran was conducting meetings instead of self-isolating.
Other users were quick to shoot down the damage control statements of Imran’s media team, pointing out that SOPs are preventative measures and that once a person has contracted the disease, they should be quarantined.
Even those people who claim to be supporters of the PTI have turned their nose up against the wishy-washy justifications being tossed around on the meeting.
Similarly, one user went as far as to call the prime minister of the country a “disgrace” after seeing the image.
Moreover, supporters of opposition parties have also pointed out that while the incumbent government has often fined leaders of the opposition for violating the SOPs, or outright barred the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) from holding protest rallies, they do not seem to be holding themselves to the same standard.
It is pertinent to mention here that the aforesaid meeting took place on Thursday, March 25, which reported the highest single day rise in infections since the peak of the first wave in June last year.
A total of 4,368 infections and 63 deaths were recorded over the last 24 hours, according to data released on Thursday, bringing the total number of cases to 645,356 and deaths to 14,091 in the country.
Imran Khan, 68, and his wife tested positive for the virus on March 20. While the government guidelines call on those who test positive for the virus to quarantine themselves for 9 to 14 days, the premier’s choice not only to hold a meeting but to allow it to be shared online has led to terrible optics.
“The PM is recovering from Covid-19 and should have been in isolation until full recovery,” Naseem Salahuddin, an infectious diseases expert at Indus Hospital in Karachi told Reuters.
“What an irresponsible and childish act,” wrote opposition leader Ahsan Iqbal on Twitter. “What example is the Covid-19 struck Prime Minister setting for the nation?”
Information Minister Faraz did addressed the issue in a television interview in Islamabad on Thursday night, wherein he said: “In hindsight maybe I should have not (met him)”.
“We were sitting at quite a distance, the picture probably does not reflect that, but the fact is it was a huge room with open windows and open doors,” he added.
