ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan has once again defended his decision not to impose a total blockade on the country despite strong criticism, saying that Pakistan's circumstances were different from those of Wuhan City and Europe.
Speaking about the havoc coronavirus has wreaked on Pakistan's economy, the prime minister said he had not been in favor of imposing a blockade as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had done.
Prime Minister Imran was on his way to the ceremony for the start of three Ehsaas initiatives, including the Ehsaas Rashan portal, the Ehsaas Langar and Panagah app, and the PM COVID Relief Fund website in the Federal Capital today.
He said that the elderly and those already suffering from serious diseases are the most vulnerable and if they are protected against the virus, the impact of the pandemic will be greatly reduced.
"Next month is difficult to deal with the pandemic," he said.
The prime minister spoke about the damage that had been done to the economies of developed countries like Italy and the United States when they had to impose a total blockade and said that long signs of people in the United States asking for food and charity could be seen.
"So it had to happen in our country [also]," he said. "And if the provinces had asked me, I would never have allowed such a blockade. Because when you are about to impose a blockade, you should think about the effects that your decisions will have on the masses," he added.
The prime minister said the provinces should not have ordered a shutdown until they thought about the effects of that decision on daily gambling and on the poor.
"However, they all panicked at the same time. They were watching Europe and the city of Wuhan in China, which we're going through different circumstances. Our situation was totally different," he added.
The prime minister spoke about how he was criticized for not imposing a total blockade across the country. "He [Modi] imposed the confinement that [the critics] wanted me to impose. I thank God that I resisted the pressure and did not do that," he added, noting that 34% of people in India faced hunger and extreme poverty according to the investigation.
Prime Minister Imran praised Dr. Sania Nishtar and her team for providing billions of rupees to people in a short period of time. She said the Prime Minister's Relief Fund will be used to provide aid to people who had been unemployed by the COVID-19 pandemic, adding that the government will add to each donation to ensure that maximum aid reaches the masses.
The Prime Minister welcomed Dr. Sania Nishtar's initiative to bring donors and the impoverished together on a platform so that the government could not get involved in the medium.
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