ISLAMABAD: Senator Sherry Rehman, senior leader of Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) has questioned the legality of the Prime Minister’s Tiger Force.
“Why in the existence of full government including deputy commissioners is the government asking a politically tagged force to monitor and check prices of food and other items,” she asked in a tweet.
On Sunday, Prime Minister Imran Khan had tasked the Tiger Force to check prices of food items such as lentils, flour, sugar and ghee in their localities and post them on their portal, adding that he will discuss the mechanism at a convention in Islamabad next week.
Senator Sherry Rehman called this a “recipe for rampant abuse”.
Earlier this week, the PM had also announced that the government will use all of its resources to bring down food prices in the country from Monday onward.
He had promised that the government will devise a strategy for this purpose. The premier assured that the government will also investigate if the hike has been caused by an increase in international prices for palm oil, lentils or any other item.
The Tiger Force is a force of volunteers formed to combat the novel coronavirus. In case a curfew or lockdown is imposed in the country, the volunteers will distribute ration bags among people. It is also responsible for identifying hoarders.
The force has the highest number of volunteers from Punjab amounting to over 600,000 followed by Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
According to the government, volunteers of the force are responsible for helping at the quarantine centres in their districts and cities. They are responsible for spreading awareness regarding precautionary measures to be taken against the deadly virus and lead the funeral of residents who have died of the coronavirus. They also help the government identify the needy people.
The opposition had disapproved of the establishment of the force calling it a “political gimmick”.
