Battle against coronavirus will be long and hard fought, PM warns

Imran Khan thanked Governor Punjab Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar and the donors for their contributions

LAHORE (Dunya News) - Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that the battle against coronavirus is a long one. He also said that the deadly virus does not discriminate and everyone is in its crosshairs, the public should not believe falsehoods on social media.

Addressing at PM’s relief fund for Covid 19, he assured that all the donations and contributions to support the vulnerable segments of the society would be made through judicious and transparent way through use of latest scientific applications.

The prime minister said there would be no political interference with regard to distribution of such relief package.

The prime minister said that Allah Almighty had always tested nations with trials and tribulations and those emerge stronger which faced such testing times with patience.

“A good man faces hard times and often emerges from the trials without seeking a shortcuts. It is a testing time for the nation to bear it with patience. It is a test of the nation, though it is indeed a difficult time as no one had the experience as how to deal with coronavirus challenge,” he opined.

Federal ministers, special assistants, governor and chief minister of Punjab and large number of philanthropists and representatives from the charity and welfare organizations were present on the occasion.

On the occasion, different philanthropists and members from the welfare and other organizations made donations through cheques or rations supplies.

The prime minister referring to recent impacts of the corona pandemic, said the rich countries with strong institutions and perfect health system had been collapsed. The US government had announced a relief package of worth 2000 billion dollars, but his government could only hardly announced 8 billion dollar relief package due to the limited resources, he added.

In Pakistan, he said they had already the challenge of poverty as fifty to sixty million people were living below the poverty line while other with the same numbers had been living on the verge of this line.

“Inshalla, the nation will be a different one after overcoming this challenge,” he added.

The prime minister regretted that the vision for which Pakistan had been created could not be fully realized. Pakistan came into being on the principles of Islamic welfare state which also found its place in the thinking of Allama Iqbal.

The prime minister said in the country, religion was often misused for the political reasons.

He referred to the creation of State of Madina, which was a role model among the civilizations of the world. For the first time, a state took responsibility of looking after the welfare of its vulnerable population. The same reflection was manifested in the creation of the humane system binding the Muhajirs of Madina with Ansar of Makkah.

The prime minister said that all the available resources would be utilized to support the nation in this difficult time and referred to his government’s biggest package which would be followed by more. He maintained that all efforts were being made to protect the daily wagers,rickshaw drivers, carts owners, labourers, and other workers associated with the construction sector as they had been sitting at homes out of the current challenge.

The prime minister said on one hand, they had make efforts to contain the coronavirus and on the other to look after the vulnerable segments of the society.

He said about 100 million people had already been badly hit in the country with corona pandemic and it could further cast effects upon others as well.

The prime minister enumerated government’s efforts with regard to opening of the construction and agriculture sectors which would buttress the people living in the rural and urban areas of the country.

He further said that they had been considering and evaluating the situation closely with compiling of the data. In case of any emergence of cluster outbreak, they would go for lockdown but in that case, they would have to ensure supply of foodstuff to those areas, he added referring to the situation in Chinese city of Wuhan.

The prime minister said that the number of Corona Relief Tiger force had reached to six lac which would be utilized to deal with such like situation.

However, he cautious that it might be a long drawn fight and urged the nation to remove all misconceptions by adopting a careful behavior over coronavirus. He cited the conditions in New York city which was a home to billionaires with huge resources.

The prime minister also expressed the satisfaction that the nation ranked among the top five countries of the world which had been generous in giving away alms and donations. Today, number of philanthropists had immensely increased with different show biz personalities and sportsman making donations.

He termed this charity giving quality as the biggest power of the nation.

The prime minister also urged all parliamentarians and politicians to continue sharing their responsibility and come forward in this critical time.

He also announced that soon a Facebook page would be launched to get feedback from the people suffering from the difficult situation and contributions announced by the organizations.

Earlier, the PM paid a visit to the Expo Center Field Hospital where he also inspected the treatment facilities for coronavirus affected patients.

During the visit, Prime Minister Imran Khan inspected various sections of the field hospital. The Prime Minister also visited diagnostic counters, rescue, command and control room, ambulance and other facilities.

During the visit, Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar briefed Prime Minister Imran Khan that the hospital carries all necessary facilities and highlighted the joint efforts of Health Department, District Administration, Rescue 1122 and other departments.

During the visit, PM Imran Khan said that the Punjab government has established the 1000-bed expo center hospital in record time and soon enough, the country will be able to overcome the coronavirus.

Earlier, when Prime Minister Imran Khan arrived in Lahore, he was accompanied by Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry, Federal Education Minister Shafqat Mahmood, Special Assistants to the PM Dr Sania Nishtar, Shahzad Akbar and Usman Dar.

Earlier, in a tweet, Prime Minister Imran Khan said that the government had previously kept the agricultural sector open to prevent devastating effects of a lockdown on the underprivileged, and now the construction sector is also being opened.

Prime Minister Imran Khan wrote that because of the coronavirus, the government had to close educational institutions, malls, wedding halls, restaurants and public gatherings in the country.

He said that due to the high poverty rate in the region, the government has to strike a balance between prevention of the virus as well as prevention of more poverty and hunger.