JUI-F MNA still thinks COVID-19 is ‘drama’
"Why should I wear a mask when PM doesn’t.”
JUI-F MNA Muhammad Jamal ud Din - Photo: National Assembly website
JUI-F MNA Muhammad Jamal ud Din refused to wear a face mask in a Senate meeting Thursday, calling the coronavirus a “drama”.
“If corona was real, the prime minister should wear the mask first. No minister wears masks, including in Gilgit. If the government is not following it, why should I,” the JUI-F member asked.
He was attending a session of the Senate Standing Committee on Overseas Pakistanis, when he was asked to wear a mask. He refused and walked out.
Related: Disinformation is spreading faster than the actual coronavirus in Pakistan
The committee chairman warned that no member will be allowed in without a mask or they will be fined Rs100 as per the law. The government’s National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) fixed Rs100 fine last week for not wearing a mask.
Committee member Mahreen Razzaq Bhutto said that Din should wear a mask for protection of other people and their families whether he thinks the virus is real or not.
Since the outbreak, the world has grappled with disinformation and misinformation on the virus. Misinformation is the inadvertent sharing of false information and disinformation is the deliberate creation and sharing of information known to be false.
In July, the PTI government formed a committee led by Interior Minister Ijaz Ahmed Shah to prevent the spread of disinformation online about the virus.
