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April 19, 2020

Imran sees tough May in war against coronavirus

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday advised against politicking on the issue of corona pandemic saying some people wanted more people to die so that they could criticise the government for political mileage.

“Therefore, for some weeks, there should be no politicisation. Anyone having apprehensions could approach the National Command and Control Centre, as all decisions are being made with consensus and mutual coordination, but after they were taken, the leader of a political party would issue statements contrary to it,” said the prime minister while briefing the media here on the current corona situation.

Imran said leaders around the world committed mistakes in dealing with the pandemic and were reprimanded by media. He said the PTI government had taken steps beforehand keeping in mind the interests of the people. He called on the police not to use force against the people for enforcing lockdown and instead educate them about the virus-related health hazards and how imperative it was to observe precautionary steps. In this connection, he also urged the religious scholars, mosques, artists, and anchors to play their role.

The prime minister congratulated the nation for far lesser number of confirmed coronavirus cases compared to the government estimates of 50,000 patients by April 25 but the pressure has moved forward. He said, “God willing, now by this date, the number will be between 12,000 and 15,000. However, he cautioned against a difficult time and the hospitals may also witness a surge in the number of patients by May 15-25.

The prime minister noted that Pakistan had been very lucky so far, as there had been 800 to 1,000 cases per day in some countries. He pointed out that the government had started preparations when the first case was reported on February 26. He said when the cases reached the figure of 26, a lockdown was imposed and Sindh opted for stricter steps than the rest of provinces. The prime minister said the measures paid off and the virus did not spread from Zaireen, who were also quarantined while no case arrived from China.

“If we take more precautionary measures, this prediction of surge in the number of cases can move even further. But as cases are increasing sharply in other countries they have slowed down in some too, the government, however, is making maximum preparations for the time ahead,” he said. “Today, we have reached the position by taking steps gradually and then took decisions to soften the lockdown in terms of construction sector and some other essential industries, keeping in view the masses’ needs as well those of the poor and weak segments of the society,” he said.

He regretted that in the past, policies were framed keeping in view the small ruling elite class but despite facing an unprecedented crisis, due deliberations were taken and considerations made about those living in shanty towns and katchi abadis. The prime minister urged people not to spread panic among the masses. "It is an irresponsible act to say people are dying without verifying it," he added. He categorically rejected claims that the government was hiding coronavirus deaths. "Which silly government will hide coronavirus deaths? It is in the government's interest that it gets full information. If we hide facts from people, will the cases disappear?" he asked.

He cited the example of the Muhajireen and the Ansars who helped each other at a time of crisis. This, he said, led Muslims to establish the State of Madina which was a perfect example for other states to follow. "I believe this is a trial from Allah and it is my faith that Pakistan will emerge stronger from this test," he said. “We have seen the public sector hospitals being destroyed and the super-rich going to London for treatment and the rich turning to private hospitals for treatment,” he maintained. Imran also said while the powerful got relief from courts by hiring leading lawyers, jails were overcrowded with the poor people.

Imran said the government’s biggest concern was not coronavirus but the conditions of the poor and weak sections of the society due to the lockdown, as there was no social security system unlike the western countries and it was impossible for the government to reach out to all of them. “That was why, the construction sector was opened while Rs12,000 per family is being disbursed among 12 million families presently,” he said.

Imran disagreed with those saying it was another amnesty scheme. The prime minister said with limited resources, the government wanted to pull in maximum capital of the Pakistanis abroad to support economy and save people from hunger. He emphasized that the government took effective decisions in consultation with all provinces, including Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, to mitigate the adverse impacts of the pandemic.

The National Command and Control Center, he noted was collecting data and statistics about the coronavirus situation on a daily basis. The prime minister expressed confidence that the government would not leave downtrodden segments of society alone in these testing times. He warned that the lockdown would be of no use if starvation forced people to get out.

The prime minister paid tribute to doctors, paramedics and others staff affiliated with the healthcare sector for their frontline role in the war against Covid-19. He again warned that the government would take a strict action against those involved in hoarding, smuggling, and corruption across the country. He directed the relevant departments to keep a vigilant eye on the demand and supply of wheat and other commodities to avert any shortage during the holy month of Ramazan. He said an ordinance about hoarding had already been enforced, while another (ordinance) about smuggling would be enforced in a day. The prime minister said he had serious concerns about hoarding goods and smuggling of wheat and in case of violation of the related laws, the owners and not the mangers will be taken to task. He said since the country was facing a national crisis in the form of virus, everyone would be affected.

Referring to the meeting of ulema with President Dr. Arif Alvi, the prime minister requested them to abide by those measures and steps agreed upon in the meeting to save people from the virus while they visit mosques. “In case the virus spreads in the mosques, they will become deserted. The factories will be shut down in case of spread of virus if the management did not abide by the SOPs,” he asserted.

Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar said precautionary measures should be followed, including social distancing, during the ongoing battle against the coronavirus. He was confident that the government's capability of conducting coronavirus tests has increased five-fold in a month. He urged the opposition leaders to refrain from politicizing the prevailing situation and join hands with the government in ongoing fight against the Covid-19.

The prime minister said while the entire focus was on the coronavirus and the lockdown, two vaccination campaigns against polio could not be held during this time and warned that polio could also spread. He said besides Pakistan, one or two more countries were still battling this menace. He said the government was mindful of the difficulties of Pakistanis stranded abroad but could not bring them back due to the virus threat.

Courtesy www.thenews.com.pk

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