“The greatest fear we have is that we take a wrong decision in fear of Coronavirus" : PM Imran Khan

[Abdullah719]

“The greatest fear we have is that we take a wrong decision in fear of Coronavirus" : PM Imran Khan

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Some of the questions from the journalists were just ridiculous. And rude. Pathetic media.

Comprehensive press conference from all aspects, though.

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ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday announced a multi-billion package involving relief for labour and underprivileged class, business community and industries and farmers besides lowering fuel prices in the country amid shutdown in various parts of the country out of coronavirus fear that has already claimed seven lives, ARY NEWS reported.

While addressing a group of mediamen along with Special Assistant to PM on Information Firdous Ashiq Awan, the prime minister said that they have earmarked Rs 200 billion for labour class and are also in touch with the provinces and business community to devise a strategy as to how they could facilitate federal government in the process.

“We are giving a tax refund of Rs 100 billion to exporters while Rs 100 billion is also set aside for small and medium industries and agriculture sector.”

“We will also defer the payments of interests to be made from both these sectors [small industries and agriculture],” he said while announcing a relief after coronavirus wreaked havoc on business activities countrywide.

The prime minister announced a Rs 150 billion package for poor segments of the society under which each household would be given Rs 3000 for the next four months.

“We are also expanding the sphere of shelter homes and are also setting aside Rs 50 billion for utility store to provide them basic commodity items on lower prices,” Imran Khan said.

The prime minister also announced to lower the fuel prices in the country by Rs 15 per litre other than relief in payments of utility bills that could now be paid in three-month installments.

He said that they have also earmarked Rs 280 billion for purchase of wheat.

Imran Khan said that an amount of Rs 50 billion was also set aside for purchasing medical equipment needed to tackle the ongoing outbreak of coronavirus.

“We have earmarked Rs 100 billion to counter the effects of lockdown while Rs 25 billion was set aside for NDMA for purchasing necessary equipment to deal with the virus-related issues,”he said.

Meanwhile, speaking over lockdown, the prime minister said that it is already in place as its implementation began soon after the National Security Council meeting, however, imposing a curfew is the last stage of the lockdown.

“The greatest fear we have is to take a wrong decision while fearing coronavirus,” he said adding the lockdown had began in the country after confirmation of 21 virus cases with all schools, marriage halls and public places being shut down.

Öur one wrong decision could wreak havoc in the society, he said and asked the newsmen if the country has the capability to provide food to all those living in the slum areas during the days-long curfew.

https://arynews.tv/en/imran-khan-announces-multi-billion-package/

 

[MenInG]

PM Imran Khan has said that provinces need to think matters through before taking a decision. Talking to journalists, the premier said that a lockdown across the country would have a lasting impact on poor people.

"We are not doing that bad," he insisted.

Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that the country is threatened more by panic than the novel coronavirus.

In a media briefing, the premier said that Pakistan does not have a strong economy like the countries in the West.

He also negated the impression that the government was unprepared for the crisis, saying that administration has been reviewing the situation since January.

Prime Minister Imran Khan has announced concessions and tax refunds for exporters and businessmen so that they don't have to bear the brunt of a slowing economy.

He also announced a Rs100 billion package for SMEs.

Prime Minister Imran Khan says the impact of a curfew in Pakistan on the economy would be immense.

"If I am living in Defence, I have a big garden, why would I care about how the poor people will be impacted?" he said in a media briefing.

 

[MenInG]

Leadership needed at this time and IK doing it nicely.

 

[Bewal Express]

As the PM he has a million things to consider- so far he has shown leadership and IA PK doesnt have the number of cases that we have seen so tragically in other places. No doubt some mistakes have been made but in fluid situation that has happened everywhere.

 

[MenInG]

This period could be a defining moment for his tenure - or could be the end of him if people turn against him.

 

[MenInG]

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday while reiterating his hesitance in imposing a full-scale lockdown in Pakistan urged the country's leaders to "discuss and reassess" their strategies in order to find a way to tackle the situation brought about by the coronavirus outbreak.

The PM said imposing a national lockdown would be detrimental for the country's economy, adding that it was not possible to "rationally judge the repercussions of decisions taken out of fear and panic".

"Only the nation can defeat corona, no government can do it," said Imran Khan, while addressing through video link a meeting of parliamentary leaders being chaired by National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser.

He told the parliamentary leaders that until yesterday out of the 900 coronavirus cases reported in Pakistan, only 153 were locally transmitted.

"In a way this is a very good thing for us," he said, pointing out that the rest of the cases had been imported from other countries.

The premier, while urging leaders to reassess the situation said: "There are types of lockdown; initially we imposed lockdown by shutting down schools and universities and cancelling matches.

"Sindh [government] believed that [they] should go beyond that. The 18th Amendment is in place and provinces are free to take their own decisions. The Centre and I were of the opinion that we should not go as far as Sindh at the time. But then there was pressure from the media [...] Under that pressure, KP, Punjab and Balochistan also imposed incremental lockdown."

He went on to say that imposing a lockdown, under which transport had to be suspended, would affect poor people, especially in villages.

"I believe that we should not go towards a lockdown in which we shut down transport. I believe that we will have to face huge problems on the supply side. Already there is a shortage of oil in Gilgit-Baltistan because there is a lockdown on transport.

"Wheat is being harvested, diesel will be required in villages for transport. I feel that this lockdown will affect our construction industry [...] and there will be unemployment on a huge scale.

"Since provinces have taken their decisions, in tomorrow's National Coordination Committee's meeting, I will put forward recommendations based on the assessments made by [my] team [....] I feel that we will have to constantly reassess. Because every step we take has repercussions for society."

Today's meeting had been called by the National Assembly speaker in order to gather all parliamentary leaders and discuss how to cope with the ongoing corona crisis. Currently, Pakistan has more than 900 reported cases of the novel coronavirus, the bulk of which have been reported from Sindh. Most of the cases have been imported from Iran, from where pilgrims and traders had arrived.

Pakistan has closed its borders with Iran and Afghanistan. A lockdown has been imposed in Sindh to contain the spread of the virus. Other provinces and federal territories have also imposed partial lockdowns.

The prime minister, however, has vocally opposed the imposition of a lockdown on several occasions, saying it would harm the economy.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1543642/p...-complete-lockdowns-as-strategy-against-virus

 

[Saj]

Strange that lockdowns in some areas but not others?

 

[MenInG]

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday stressed upon reviewing the "extreme steps" taken by the provinces to contain the spread of the coronavirus as these would "impact the economy drastically".

Addressing a parliamentary leaders’ conference in Islamabad, PM Imran called for the lifting of the ban on transport, saying it would badly affect the supply of essential items in the country.

“Gilgit-Baltistan is facing fuel shortage and yesterday, supply from the port was stopped due to the lockdown in Karachi and we had to take necessary steps in this regard,” the prime minister said.

He added there was no precedence in the world of such a lockdown.

"The federal government can not do this alone; we have to have a national response to fight the epidemic," the premier said.

Requesting the political leadership of the country to give their input and suggestions, the prime minister said, "We have a meeting of National Coordination Committee tomorrow where we will review the situation arising after the lockdown."

"There are multiple levels of lockdown and a curfew is the last stage," the premier said, adding that his concern was the poor section of the society which will bear the brunt of such measures.

"Sindh was the first province which announced it is imposing a lockdown and then under pressure from the media, all the other provinces and Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu Kashmir followed suit," said the premier.

Addressing the Taftan controversy, PM Imran said the army and Balochistan government made great efforts in taking care of pilgrims coming from Iran.

Iran could not deal with the situation and then brought our nationals to the border, leaving us no option but to allow them back into the country, he said.

The prime minister added, "Our decision to not evacuate students from Wuhan proved right. We received criticism from everyone but you see, there is no case of coronavirus from China."

"We must not take decisions under fear," he said. “We have to win the fight against coronavirus and we can do this together.”


Shehbaz, Bilawal walk out in protest

Meanwhile, drama ensued when Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif and PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari walked out of the conference, citing the absence of the premier, who had left the session after a brief appearance.

"Is this his level of seriousness? He did not think it important to participate in the full session," remarked Shehbaz.

"The country is faced with the worst calamity in history and the premier is absent."

"If this is his level of seriousness, we too will not participate in the session," said Shehbaz.

He regretted that the premier "does not even realise that the session was meant to be a consultative one".

"We did not have political designs in coming here. We wanted to sit down to debate on how we can save the country together."

Other members of the PPP and PML-N, however, continued their participation in the session.


'Not enough'

After the session's conclusion, Bilawal in a briefing to the media, said that there is an urgent need for the premier himself to review his own policies given the rapid spread of the virus throughout the world.

"If we allow it to spread further, we will no longer be able to control it," he said.

The PPP chairman recognised that there is a need to increase the capacity of hospitals and testing facilities.

He urged on everyone to strictly maintain social distancing "otherwise there will be great losses". He said that a total of 94 cases had come from local transmissions of the disease.

"The time has come for us to make tough decisions together. If we don't take stringent measures, a lockdown alone will not be able to help us.

He said that the economic package announced by the premier a day earlier "is not enough".

"We need to take care of the health of the underpriveleged as well as keep an eye on the economy."

The PPP leader called on an end to loadshedding and for a further reduction in the interest rate, which was taken down to 11% yesterday. He said it must be brought down to a "single digit".

He said that the monthly stipend to poor families should be worth Rs18,000.


Speaker's invitation

Speaker National Assembly Asad Qaiser had called the meeting last week, inviting parliamentary leaders to parliament house for an in-camera briefing on the impacts of COVID-19.

A formal notice was sent to all parliamentary leaders in the National Assembly as well as the Senate of Pakistan.

However, due to the growing severity of the virus's spread, the format of the meeting was changed to a video conference.

Advisor to the Prime Minister on Finance, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Health and Director General National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) had been invited to attend the meeting to brief the parliamentary leaders.


Opposition MPC on coronavirus

On Tuesday, all major political parties except the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf had also participated in a multi-party conference jointly organized by PML-N and PPP on the issue.

The joint declaration called upon Prime Minister Imran Khan to play his role as the prime minister of Pakistan, and not only of Islamabad Capital Territory, and to curb the menace of the coronavirus through an immediate complete lockdown of the country instead of wasting further time.

The participants emphasised that there should be a national approach, with no province left out of the consultative loop and suggested that PM Imran should call a meeting of the Council of Common Interests (CCI) on a daily basis, so that all federating units are taken on board and no one is left out.

The participating parties endorsed PML-N’s national strategy recommendations, which had been presented by Shehbaz Sharif.

All parties had urged the restoration of the local governments in Punjab, which are closer to communities and can play an effective role in any community-related initiative.

https://www.geo.tv/latest/279134-co...lawal-to-attend-parliamentary-leaders-meeting

 

[moghul]

Coumo and Ik, scoring good in my books , so far. Modi is also doing a good job.

 

[MenInG]

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar has said that the federal government has finalised the mechanism for dispatching its economic package which will ensure the provision of relief to the nationals amid the ongoing crises of coronavirus pandemic, ARY News reported on Thursday.

Asad Umar, while addressing a press conference along with special advisers to prime minister (SAPM) in Islamabad today, said that PM Imran Khan is going to make major announcements regarding the economic aid package within a few days.

The minister said many important decisions had made during the March 13’s meeting of National Security Council (NSC) to adopt a comprehensive strategy to contain coronavirus pandemic. The council had also constituted a National Coordination Committee (NCC) which will be chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan.

“The government is taking futher steps to curb spread of COVID-19 and it a national duty to contain the pandemic. Pakistan adopted all necessary measures by screening and testing nationals. We are also providing all protection equipment to the medical staff.”

“All decisions are being made on basis of statistics in order to maintain accuracy. We have gradually increase restrictions despite being aware of its negative impacts. It was discussed in the NCC’s session today whether the restrictions would increase issues,” said Umar.

The minister that the govvernment has announced a relief package and it is being implemented with the coordination of all provinces. He announced that all educational institutions will remain closed till May 31 across the country.

https://arynews.tv/en/govt-finalises-mechanism-to-dispatch-economic-package-for-nationals/

 

[OMB]

PM Imran urges D-8 nations to evolve Covid recovery plan, boost engagements

Premier virtually addresses 10th D8 leadership summit; calls for enhanced trade activities

Prime Minister Imran Khan urged the Developing-8 (D-8) countries on Thursday to develop a strategy to deal with the economic and health crises brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic.

"We must mobilise financing and resources to recover robustly from the economic and health crises induced by Covid pandemic."

"We must come up with a strategy to deal with the emergency posed by the pandemic," the premier said while addressing the virtual 10th D8 leadership summit.

The premier added that no country could deal with the current challenges on its on, adding that the challenges have to be dealt with collectively.The premier also called for boosting trade between the D8 countries. To achieve this objective, he added, the states will have to simplify border procedures, opertionalise new initiatives and ensure transactions in local currencies, amongst other measures.

"The states must also put in place a huge engagement strategy through cultural and people to people exchanges," he maintained.

Terming technological development essential in today's era, the premier called for promoting knowledge based economies and increasing expenditure on research and development.

"We must also work towards improving the lives of citizens by promoting food security, and supporting each other in times of crisis," he stressed.

To achieve these objectives, we need a high level of motivation and commitment between the developed and underdeveloped economies, PM Imran said.

Last month, while addressing virtual 14th ECO Summit, the premier invited the Economic Cooperation Organization's (ECO) member countries to tap the enormous economic opportunities available in Pakistan, saying the country could be the centre-point for economic development.

"We have rich resources, enterprising people and human workforce, with a larger potential for future," he was quoted as saying.

https://tribune.com.pk/story/2293802/pm-imran-urges-d-8-nations-to-evolve-covid-recovery-plan-boost-engagements