Daily Times

The Federal cabinet on Tuesday decided to immediately restore goods transport in the country for ensuring uninterrupted supply chain to save the poor segments of the society from hunger and unemployment.

Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan told media that Prime Minister Imran and the whole cabinet expressed displeasure over delay in the implementation of the National Coordination Committee’s decision taken in its last meeting regarding restoring goods transport so that supply chain of daily use items is not affected. The Sindh government, she said, has not fully implemented the NCC decision so far. She said all imported items from abroad land at ports in Karachi, where sufficient labour force is not available due to the lockdown to handle them. The prime minister has issued directives to the Rangers to remove hurdles in the movement of goods transport as early as possible to restore the supply chain of eatable items, she added.

The SAPM said the cabinet also expressed its dismay over indulgence of Leader of the Opposition in National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif in political point-scoring at such a critical juncture. The NCC took decisions in consensus with all the stakeholders as it has representation of all the provinces, including Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, and all the political parties. She urged the opposition to avoid politicizing the current situation and join hands with the government in its endeavour to contain the coronavirus. “The opposition leader is trying to use coronavirus pandemic to keep him politically in but the country and the nation cannot afford such a divisive approach which can harm the fight against coronavirus,” she added.

Shehbaz Sharif, she said, should better end his self-isolation at Jati Umra and join fight against coronavirus by giving practical proposals as it is not time to indulge in petty politics. She said it is an irony that Shehbaz Sharif is criticizing the health sector despite the fact that he remained in power for 10 years in the biggest province of the country. The Sharif family should donate some of their assets to the fund set up by the government to support the people affected by the ongoing lockdown in the country, she added.

Dr Firdous said the prime minister briefed the cabinet on the two-pronged strategy of saving the people from the spread of coronavirus and at the same time saving the country’s economy from its negative impacts, besides taking steps to revive construction and other industries, which provided employment to the poor labour class. She said at the very outset, the cabinet reviewed the implementation of the decisions taken by the NCC in its last meeting and their practical impacts.

She said Special Assistant to PM on Health Dr Zafar Mirza and Dr Faisal Sultan, PM’s focal person on coronavirus, briefed the meeting about the latest situation and the steps being taken to control the deadly virus. The prime minister said the policies were being updated in line with the situation, which is being monitored on daily basis, she added.

The SAPM said the cabinet gave formal approval to Rs 1,200 billion financial stimulus package to deal with the adverse impacts of the coronavirus outbreak on the country’s economy. The prime minister renewed his firm commitment that the government will take all possible steps to protect the general public from the coronavirus and also at the same time save them from poverty, hunger and unemployment in face of the ongoing lock-down in the country.

Dr Firdous said the prime minister expressed his displeasure over the treatment meted out to the coronavirus patients as ‘untouchables’ by the law enforcement agencies personnel and the security staff at hospitals and asked the governments concerned to ensure that they are treated respectfully. The SAPM said the cabinet also gave approval for the launch of domestic Sukuk bonds for next three years. She said the labour ministry was directed to prepare a strategy in consultation with all the provinces for registration of the labour class to ensure their social, health and job security. The prime minister asked SAPM on Overseas Pakistanis and Manpower Zulfiqar Bukhari to make sure that the issue is taken up at the Council of Common Interests so that the labourers can get social security benefits and job security, she added. Special Assistant on Poverty Alleviation Dr Sania Nishtar briefed the cabinet about the mechanism for cash transfer of Rs 150 billion to 12 million poor families across the country under the Ehsaas programme. The cabinet also called for expediting the reforms process in Pakistan Railways, Pakistan International Airlines, Federal Bureau of Revenue and other corporations. It also issued directives for shift to e-governance and paperless governance and asked the ministries and departments to upload their information on their websites to save the money wasted on purchase of papers.