CMYK
Monday, 23 March, 2020 I 27 Rajab, 1441 I Rs 20.00 I Vol X No 264 I 60 Pages I Lahore Edition
Sindh locked down for 15 dAyS AS cASeS neAr 800 g g
Sindh govt enforceS Stringent curbS on public movement, SuSpend flightS
pm SayS panic will cauSe more damage, ruleS out lockdown
ISLAMABAD/KARACHI/LAHORE
A
staff report
S coronavirus cross 750, the Sindh government has decided to completely shut down the province for 15 days, whereas the federal government is still uncertain about the decision on account economic damage. the number of cases was recorded at 764 on tuesday by midnight, with two deaths reported in Quetta, balochistan and di khan, khyber pakhtunkhwa. “a woman who came from taftan, who later died while being shifted to dera ismail khan, her results are back and her samples have also tested positive for coronavirus. therefore, three deaths have been reported from the virus in kp,” a spokesperson said. CURFEW IN SINDH: the provincewide curfew announced by Sindh chief minister murad ali Shah came into effect at midnight. according to a notification issued in the evening, there was “a complete ban on movement of people including intercity or interprovincial travel or gatherings of any kind for social, religious, or any other purpose at any place, public or private, including all offices, public or private situated within the territorial limits” of Sindh.
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punjab, balochiStan Seek deployment of troopS in bid to implement anti-corona meaSureS
the notification said anyone related to health services like hospitals, laboratories, and medical stores, law enforcement agencies, any person in the need of medical care (with an attendant where necessary) or going to buy groceries and medicines were exempt during the lock-down. “necessary and/or unavoidable religious rites like last rites, namaaz-e-janaza, burial and related events [were exempt] provided that all precautions against the spread of disease are taken and a safe distance of 01 metre (3 feet) is maintained between people gathered in small numbers/ close family members after prior intimation to Sho of the area,” the notification added. “assistant commissioner and Sdpo of the area will supervise and as and when necessary provide added force/manpower for compliance,” it read. during the lockdown period, all offices will be closed and gatherings banned. additionally, those who are not required to, will not be allowed to go outside in public. the law enforcement agencies will be told that if someone is out due to a necessity they should be permitted, adding that if anyone steps out, they should carry their computerised national identity card (cnic) with them. however, in case of sickness, people will be able to visit the hospital but there should not be
more than three people in a car. moreover, one driver and one passenger will be allowed in a car as per routine and essential services, including food supplies, will continue. ‘PM RELUCTANT TO LOCK DOWN COUNTRY’: in a brief pre-recorded address broadcasted live on mainstream as well as social media, the prime minister called on the citizenry to exercise self-isolation “as much as possible” to contain the spread of the viral disease. “if you feel any symptoms of flu, it is better to avoid going out so that the virus does not spread to the elderly,” he said, adding that this would enable the healthcare system to take care of the people. he also said that people should show self-discipline to “win this war against the virus”. the premier further claimed that if pakistan’s situation was as bad as italy, he would have imposed a lockdown immediately. however, he noted, pakistan’s financial situation does not allow this since there are daily wagers who have to be taken care of. “the countries […] the developed countries, which imposed a [complete] lockdown, are rich economies,” he said, adding, “they have money, food supplies and resources to sustain [prolong lockdowns].” “if you [the masses] cooperate with us [the government], we will overcome [this] difficult time like china.” imran said that the pandemic has his full attention and that of his team. “all my team is thinking right now is how to tackle this [coronavirus],” he added. the premier announced that he will address the nation again on tuesday with a plan for the industrial sector without further divulging into details. “i want to assure you we’re working very hard […] i will announce on tuesday a comprehensive plan for the industrial sector,” he said. PUNJAB SEEKS ARMY DEPLOYMENT: on the other hand, the punjab government requisitioned the army under Section 245 to help the provincial administration. Section 245 empowers the provincial governments to requisition the pakistan army whose officials/troops would act in aid of civil power. Speaking to reporters in lahore, punjab chief minister Sardar usman buzdar clarified that rumors of a food shortage in the province were false and urged citizens to adopt precautionary measures as advised by the government.
Lockdown: A less ‘painful victory’ over coronavirus ISLAMABAD sHaHZaD paraCHa
as cases of coronavirus continue to surge, experts and government officials have called upon the pakistan tehreeke-insaf (pti) government to impose a complete lockdown in the country, which would be difficult but still ‘a less painful victory’ in the fight against the deadly virus. a large number of people have expressed reservations over the government’s decision of not imposing a curfew to keep the virus at bay and warned that the time was short to adopt such preventive measures. the cases in pakistan have already quadrupled in a single week. the demand has gained strength following the announcement of lockdown in Sindh, which shut down the province for 15 days. however, the government officials, including chief executive imran khan, are reluctant to shut down the entire owning to its economic and social cost. in order to understand the government’s perspective, different government officials, who are closing monitoring the situation were contacted. they said that a “lockdown was not suitable for any country in the world because of its social and economic implications and countries only opt for
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officialS Say poor handling of caSeS in taftan, inSufficient fundS led to Spread of viruS
it when there was no alternative”. however, others give the example of italy, battered by the virus because of its delay in chalking up a strategy to contain the disease. “italy delayed a lockdown and is now paying a heavy price for that. over 5,000 people have died due to coronavirus whereas the economy is also dwindling. in order to control the economic situation, italy’s premier has repeatedly increased the size of the economic package. the most recent announcement was of 25 billion euros but the italian government is currently working on an even bigger package,” said an official. china is also an example. it locked down wuhan city in january with extreme limitations on movement and succeeded in curbing the spread of the virus.
officials feared that pakistan was already late as the government had “avoided spending money on containing pilgrims at taftan”. they added that the maximum cost would have been rs1 billion with zero human casualties if a timely decision was taken to contain the people coming from iran, whereas now when the pilgrims have reached different cities of the country, the human and economic cost is likely to increase in the coming days. “pakistan should still go for a lockdown immediately,” an official said, adding the advantage of this move would be a less painful victory over the virus. the economy will suffer nevertheless, as demand would fall and production would also decrease, which will eventually bring the gdp growth down. IS THERE AN ALTERNATIVE? when asked, the officials said that the answer is no because it would be impossible to keep the country running with unidentified coronavirus roaming around. they warned that if the situation continues like this, casualties will increase and the people will ask why did the government not go for an early lockdown. they said that the prime minister has to decide between human life and economic gains but the decision must be made quickly as the country is running out of time.
CMYK
MQM-P retains alliance with PTI, rejoins cabinet KARACHI staff report
the muttahida Qaumi movement-pakistan (mQm-p) has announced that it is rejoining the federal cabinet after holding a meeting with Sindh governor imran ismail. addressing a press conference, mQm-p chief khalid maqbool Siddiqui said that the party’s leadership has decided to become part of the federal government and retain alliance with the pakistan tehreek-e-insaf (pti). he said that both political parties have to make decisions on many matters and major progress was seen in the fulfilment of the demands raised by mQm-p’s leadership. “mQmp is now satisfied over the progress made on demands tabled before the federal government. a meeting was also held with asad umar who had arrived in karachi yesterday,” he said. “we have decided to become part of the cabinet. our leadership thinks it is better to rejoin the federal cabinet. the alliance of mQmp and pti should be remembered,” he said. the development came after mQm-p leaders’ meeting with Sindh governor ismail held at mQm-p’s headquarters in karachi’s bahadurabad on Sunday. governor ismail in his statement said that the federal government has allocated rs7 billion development budget and rs1 billion will be handed over to karachi mayor waseem akhtar for the metropolis. he urged that karachi mayor should be given powers to serve the citizens. answering a question regarding lockdown in Sindh due to coronavirus, the governor said that a detailed discussion was held earlier in the day and all political parties are on the same page for the lockdown. he added that the nation will fight the war against coronavirus with unity and god will give them victory.
Coronavirus outbreak: PML-N calls for immediate lockdown STORY ON PAGE 03
govt approaches opp for joint strategy against coronavirus STORY ON PAGE 03
in today’s issue
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