Imran warns of tougher restrictions if health guidelines’ flouting continues

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday urged the nation to strictly observe the health guidelines to protect themselves against the coronavirus as he seeks to change the course of a third wave of infections that risk overwhelming hospitals.

“I urge you all to wear face masks, and I appeal you to follow the SOPs [standard operating procedures] for your sake and for the sake of Pakistan,” Imran said while answering the public’s questions via telephone, in a second such session since assuming office in August 2018.

This was the prime minister’s first public appearance since recovering from Covid-19 which he and his spouse Bushra Bibi contracted last month.

He said that it was “Allah Almighty’s blessing [on Pakistan] that He protected us from the first two waves of the deadly wave of coronavirus”. In the West, despite vaccinating their people, European countries were imposing general lockdowns, he observed.

Imran mentioned the impact of the third wave in neighbouring countries — particularly India and Bangladesh — and said: “Wearing a mask, or face covering, is the cheapest and most important weapon in the fight against coronavirus.”

“Wear it whenever you are sharing a confined indoor space with people […] in buses […] everywhere.”

“During the first two waves of the pandemic, Allah has been kind to the people of Pakistan […] and Pakistan escaped the negative impacts [of the pandemic], but now the people have become complacent [about protective measures], he said, expressing his worry that it could undo that good fortune.

“People are roaming around [without observing guidelines] without any fear. The more this [disease] spreads, the more burden it would put on our healthcare system,” he said.

The prime minister who last week ruled out a blanket lockdown reiterated his commitment and said that his government was implementing targeted restrictions. “[But if the situation worsens] we will be forced to take the tough steps,” he warned.

Since the outbreak of the coronavirus in Pakistan in February last, Imran has sought to avoid a large quaratine, gambling that if he could steer the nation out of the pandemic without locking the country down, he would give the economy a chance to recover from a deep slump.

Citing data, he said that the poor were the most affected people globally, and some 150 million people are expected to have slipped below the poverty line. Imran said that it was his desire to protect the poor people of society at all costs and added he wanted the public to adopt protective measures.

“We can’t predict how long will this latest surge last,” he said and added it was, therefore, paramount that people strictly adhere to the guidelines.

Speaking about corruption, he stressed that as it had eaten away economies of the poor countries like Pakistan, the society as a cohesive whole should extend full support to make the fight against the menace a success.

The premier said that a nation could fight corruption only through collective efforts.

“Imran Khan cannot fight it alone, the society carries on this fight and the judiciary fights it. The National Accountability Bureau (NAB), which is completely independent, can frame cases,” he added.

The prime minister said that corruption was the real issue, which had permeated in all the poor countries of world and had even shaken the economies of rich ones.

He referred to the steps taken by Mahathir Mohamad to lift the Malaysian economy.

PM Imran said that the powerful elite embezzled the national wealth by holding on to the powerful offices as happened in Pakistan and then resorted to money laundering as they could not hide such huge amounts in their respective countries.

According to the United Nations watchdog panel report, about $1 trillion from the poor countries were being laundered to the rich countries or tax havens, he said. The report further said about 7,000 billion dollars had been stashed away in rich countries, he added.

The prime minister said that the Government of Pakistan was striving to get the laundered money back.   China had sent 450 ministers to jail on corruption charges and in Singapore, a minister committed suicide after he had been arrested for corruption, he added.

The prime minister regretted that in Pakistan, the corrupt elements were warmly welcomed and showered with flower petals.

Expressing his resolve, PM Imran said, “Insha’Allah we have to win this fight – a fight for the rule of law, which is vital for the country’s survival.”

He said that in the fight, all the corrupt elements had gathered on one platform to pull down Imran Khan’s government because it was not giving them any NRO (National Reconciliation Ordinance).

The prime minister said that the real issue was rule of law, which was firmly imposed by Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) in the State of Medina.

“We all have to decide together to go after these corrupt elements,” he emphasized.

The prime minister, to a question, replied that the government had retrieved land worth Rs450 billion from illegal occupants in Punjab alone.

The government, he said, would not spare the powerful mafia, who had encroached upon its own lands and properties. The government has declared a war against them.

A Lahore-based clique had the backing of a political party, and even in past, the ministers and members of the parliament had gobbled the government’s precious lands in Punjab, he added.

The mafia, he said, also encroached upon the properties of overseas Pakistanis.

The prime minister said that change could be brought through a consecutive struggle. There were two kinds of changes, i.e., blood revolution and a change through ballot.

The judiciary was completely independent as well as NAB, which were previously controlled by the then governments, he added.

Citing the Broadsheet Commission report, PM Imran said Justice (r) Shaikh Azmat Saeed’s findings had divulged that the corrupt elements were protected in the scandal.

“There is difference between revolution and evolution, the latter will take time,” he maintained.

The prime minister said that his government had so far paid back Rs35 trillion in debt, which the previous rulers had left behind.

The prime minister said that for the first time, a change was being felt and no one could stop it from happening. The country in the past had only witnessed a two-party system.

“Now all stood on one platform, trying to get rid of Imran Khan’s government. It is a change. The powerful, who always enjoyed the privileged position, are feeling it. My government will not spare anyone,” he added.

Going after such elements, he said, had never been an easy task. Almost all the developing countries had been facing the ordeal. “It is a kind of jihad we are waging.  It is a jihad when you protect the feeble segments of your society,” he said.

The prime minister said that in Punjab alone, it was detected that a whooping amount of Rs600 billion was circulated in the accounts of sugar bookies.

He expressed his wonder that his political rivals did not talk about such changes, how the government had stabilised the country, its economy and rupee. “Something is happening as all the economic indicators are positive even in this pandemic,” he added.

The changes, he said, could be felt in the automobile and construction sectors. Such changes would lift the country, even the tourism sector alone would help lift Pakistan economically, he added.

For the first time in the country’s history, the current account had been in surplus for the last seven months, he further said.

The prime minister said that the first year of his government was a horrible one as the country was facing an imminent default.