–PML-N president suggests using government services to facilitate people under lockdown
LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday once again demanded an immediate lockdown to control coronavirus spread in the country and presented a comprehensive plan to ensure the supply of food, medicine and essential items.
In a statement, the National Assembly (NA) opposition leader said that after the spike in coronavirus cases, it was unavoidable and nonnegotiable to enforce a complete shutdown to contain further spread of the disease.
Shehbaz proposed that food and other essential items should be retailed by Utility Stores Corporation (USC) through home delivery ordered via calls and smartphone apps. “Post offices and NLC’s human resource can also be used for this purpose,” he said, adding that freight trains should be used for transporting these items to different parts of the country at mass scale.
He said that the prices of food and essential items should be subsidised using Baitul Maal and Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP). He stressed that all personnel involved in this operation must be provided protective kits and essential precautionary items.
Shehbaz paid tribute to the doctors, nurses, paramedical staff, armed forces and rangers for their service to the nation while putting their own lives in harm’s way. He stressed that ensuring the protection of the frontline soldiers in this fight against the pandemic is assurance of the safeguarded lives of the entire nation. He said that the private and corporate sector can also help in this regard.
He called for an immediate disinfecting drive through municipal staff across the country and especially in areas with high density of infected cases. He pointed out that the grave situation in Rawalpindi Bara Koh and called for immediate attention to that area.
He renewed his call for inclusion of opposition’s proposals to the insufficient and vague economic package announced by the government. Shehbaz demanded that the Parliamentary Committee on COVID-19 should be upgraded to Parliamentary Monitoring Committee so that it can analyse and ensure effective implementation of the steps and call out dereliction.
He also demanded that the Sindh government’s charter of demands should be immediately sent to the federal government and be approved at once. “Meeting of the Council of Common Interest (CCI) must be held on a daily basis and Punjab’s local government should be reinstated immediately,” he said.
The PML-N president once again called for the policy rate to be cut by at least 4 per cent.
“This is no time for mindless, egomaniacal, arrogant and stubborn tantrums fuelled by vengeance and prejudice,” he said, while calling for sanity, unity and coherence to prevail.
