The main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has said the government is prioritizing political agenda in the search for Mohamed Naish from Addu city who went missing while hunting lobsters.
In a press release, the MDP said the search operation has been going on for more than 72 hours but all available resources have not been put to use. The party said it was an extremely irresponsible act.
"This party will not accept prioritizing a political agenda over the life of a Maldivian national. We call on the government to make use of all the resources available in Maldives in the search for Naish," the MDP stated.
The MDP said the Maldives has always worked with friendly countries in such operations and uses the resources available from those countries. The party expressed concern that such resources are not being sought in the ongoing operation.
“The fact that 3,452 people have been rescued in 1,996 such operations conducted in collaboration with the Maldivian army and foreign countries shows the high success rate of the operations,” the MDP said.
The MDP has expressed its concern at a time when the government is under scrutiny for not using the Indian-donated Dornier aircraft in the search.
In the past, Indian-donated helicopters and Dornier aircraft have been used in search operations. However, the aircraft is not being used in the ongoing operation, prompting social media users to criticize the government.
On December 17, President's Office Spokesman Mohamed Shaheeb said the government has not ordered a stop to the operations of the Dornier aircraft and helicopters by Indian soldiers.
