ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan has reiterated that the country could not afford to go back towards lockdown due to the economic condition.
While addressing the ‘Corona Relief Tiger Force’ volunteers today (Friday), PM Imran said that the country was already emerging from a difficult situation before the pandemic hit.
He said that the decision of reopening industries was to help the vulnerable. “A lockdown for the privileged is not a problem, but it is a problem for the working class,” he added.
PM Imran also urged the people of Pakistan to follow the government’s standard operating procedures (SOPs) for curbing the spread of the coronavirus.
In this regard, he said, “How much more money can Ehsaas give? That is why important for you to ensure the implementation of SOPs.”
PM Imran directed the volunteers of the Corona Relief Tiger Force to spread awareness among the people regarding the deadly virus. He further directed the volunteers to keep a close eye on utility stores, in an effort to keep the prices of food items from skyrocketing.
He urged the volunteers to identify hoarders and inform the district administration. “We will give you instructions every day on what you need to do, what the hotspots are,” he added.
The premier said the force’s help will also be sought to combat the locust attacks and the force will also assist the government in its tree plantation project.
Commenting on the decision of opening the mosques, PM Imran said that none of the country’s coronavirus cases have been traced back to mosques.
PM Imran said that the federal government was criticized for reopening the mosques, however, none of the cases emerged from there and today the world is opening mosques with SOPs.
He said, “We are the only country in the Muslim world that said we would not bar Taraweehs and would keep mosques open,” adding, “We decided that whoever goes there will have to follow SOPs.”
Quoting the example of Sialkot, PM Imran said that there weren’t enough police officials in Sialkot to stop the public from going to mosques so our tiger force went and raised awareness.
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