- Says govt taking all measures to protect economy from negative impacts of coronavirus
- Says any complaint about hoarding and profiteering would not be tolerated
ISLAMABAD, March 16: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday said that the novel coronavirus can be curbed if people take precautions “voluntarily” without panicking.
The premier was chairing a meeting of the National Coordination Committee on Coronavirus, which was attended by Minister for Religious Affairs Noorul Haq Qadri, Interior Minister retired Brig Ijaz Shah, prime minister’s aides Hafeez Sheikh, Firdous Ashiq Awan, Dr Moeed Yousuf, Dr Zafar Mirza, Syed Zulfiqar Bukhari and other committee members. The meeting was also attended by the chief ministers of all four provinces through video link.
The prime minister was briefed on the implementation of the steps which were decided last week during the National Security Committee’s meeting. The chief ministers apprised the premier of the steps taken by provincial governments to control the virus from spreading and also discussed the challenges and future strategy.
Prime Minister Imran remarked that the government realised the severity of the situation and will take every measure to tackle the growth of the virus.
He also emphasised the importance of raising awareness among the masses so they can take appropriate precautions to protect themselves from the virus.
The prime minister added that he will address the nation over the issue but did not announce the date.
So far, the number of cases that have been detected in Pakistan is 136, the majority of which have been emerged in Sindh.
Meanwhile Prime Minister said ensuring uninterrupted economic activities and jobs protection for the common man was the topmost priority of the government and it was taking all measures to protect the economy from negative impacts of coronavirus.
He was chairing a high-level meeting about taking advance preventive steps to protect the national economy from possible effects of the coronavirus. The meeting was attended by Minister for Economic Affairs Hamad Azhar, Minister for National Food Security Makhdoom Khusro Bakhtiar, Finance Advisor Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, Commerce Advisor Abdul Razak Dawood, Special Assistant on Information Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan, federal secretaries and senior officials.
The meeting deliberated upon impacts of the coronavirus on global economy and the state of Pakistan’s economy in that regard. It was decided to set up an inter-ministerial committee headed by the finance advisor to keep a vigil on the country’s economy on daily basis and advise advance steps in that regard.
The prime minister directed the meeting to prepare a comprehensive policy for providing relief to the common man keeping in view the emergence of any possible situation. He also directed to ensure availability of essential items in abundance.
He emphasized that any complaint about hoarding and profiteering would not be tolerated, and in case of such a complaint strict action would be taken against the hoarders.
The prime minister directed Minister for Economic Affairs Hamad Azhar to engage the World Bank and international institutions so that any possible situation could be tackled.-APP
